The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ: A Civil Libertarian's Perspective

Every year during Holy Week, Christians acknowledge the trial and death of a homeless first-century Palestinian who was executed under color of law by the most powerful empire on Earth. He was one anonymous Jew crucified among many, his death (like other deaths) not even recorded in permanent records, and yet within three centuries the ideological descendants of his scattered followers would rule the empire that had so thoughtlessly swatted him away.

Who was Jesus? Did he exist? Can the Gospel accounts of his trial and execution be trusted? I'm not interested in answering any of these questions in this short article, but there are places on About.com where debate regarding the nature of the historical Jesus is very much on-topic.

• Join the discussion: About.com: Christianity - Debate Forum

What are the major differences between our own criminal justice system and the ancient Roman criminal justice system that put Jesus Christ to death?

The first key difference between our two systems deals with free speech. Most of the titles attributed to Jesus were actually political titles over which Roman authorities claimed a monopoly. "Son of God," for example, was reserved for the Emperor Augustus, adopted son of the allegedly divine Julius Caesar. "King of the Jews" was reserved for Herod Antipas, Rome's handpicked tetrarch of Galilee. If crowds of Jewish citizens started calling an itinerant preacher by these names, Roman officials might want to reassert their turf. American officials do not have that option.

• Read more: The First Amendment

According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was tried and acquitted by Pilate, transferred to Herod, dismissed and returned to Pilate, and then convicted. Under our Fifth Amendment, one acquittal per charge is usually enough; to be tried twice for the same offense violates the principle of double jeopardy.

• Read more: The Fifth Amendment

In the Gospels, Jesus refuses to speak on his own behalf and is subsequently denied a defense. Under the Fifth Amendment, citizens are prohibited from facing penalties by their refusal to incriminate themselves; under the Sixth Amendment, citizens are guaranteed defense attorneys.

• Read more: Miranda - Rights of Silence

The Gospels describe a lynch mob environment where Pilate is reticent to sentence Jesus to death, but is forced to do so because he is afraid of how angry observers might react. It's worth noting that the Greek word for crowd, ochlos, simply refers to a disorganized mob--it could have been as few as a dozen people, though that still might have been enough to make Pilate nervous. Although many historical U.S. trials were conducted in a similar environment, the Sixth Amendment prohibits these kinds of conditions.

• Read more: The Sixth Amendment

The most blatant violation of Jesus' civil liberties, as described in the Gospels, is the manner of his death. The proverbial "thirty-nine lashes" could have been practiced using an ordinary whip, as one might have beaten an ancient Roman slave, but soldiers more typically used a military-grade flagrum with multiple tips specifically designed to tear flesh. And Roman crucifixion was, of course, one of the most excruciating forms of punishment ever devised.

• Read more: Death by Crucifixion

Some ancient theologians made the dubious historical claim that Jesus was tried by Jewish, and not Roman, authorities. If he had been, he would have received a much better trial. One could even make the conjectural argument that this was why Herod transferred Jesus back to Pilate--as he would have known that it would be much more difficult to secure a conviction, much less an execution, under Jewish law.

• Read more: Baruch Gershom on the Trial of Jesus

For most of human history, concepts such as due process, jury trials, protection from double jeopardy, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment were alien to the criminal justice system, particularly when the defendants were marginalized members of society. Jesus Christ did not receive a fair trial. Neither did hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of anonymous Jewish rebels who faced crucifixion at the hands of the Roman regime. For Christians, the trial and execution of Jesus was perhaps the most important event in recorded history. For the Roman officials who killed him, he was just another rebellious Jew who could be made into an example for other would-be troublemakers. For the Jewish residents walking by the rows of crucified corpses rotting at Golgotha, crucifixion was a horrifying symbol of tragedy, oppressive fear, and the futility of revolt. For the Roman soldiers who set up these crosses, it was just another day at the office.

Today, the poor and disenfranchised who face discrimination and unfair treatment at the hands of our government look to us as if we were Roman soldiers, and for the most part we also look back at them as if we were Roman soldiers.

"Whatever you do to the least of my brethren," Jesus is quoted as saying in Matthew 25:40, "you do unto me." Meanwhile, we are apathetic regarding the rights of undocumented immigrants because they aren't citizens. We are apathetic regarding the rights of "enemy combatants" because they are citizens of hostile nations, and presumed to hold hostile ideologies. We are apathetic regarding the rights of innocent bystanders killed at Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and Fallujah because they had the poor fortune to be born in a country against which the mighty United States has declared war.

For many reasons, the trial and execution of Jesus could not happen in the United States in the manner the Gospels describe. Still, the Gospel accounts of the trial and execution of Jesus accurately describe the horrific price others pay for the tendency we all have to be indifferent to those living on the margins of our culture, for the warm and comfortable confidence we have that our government can always be trusted to be merciful and just. It is the duty of every American to find where we hide our own Golgothas, to free their victims, to dismantle their crosses.