ABSTRACT
Retributive theory is based on the correlation between the gravity of the crime and the severity of the punishment. It is often cited as justification for the use of capital punishment and appears to be the primary basis of support for the death penalty in the United States. As one of its main characteristics, retributive justice focuses on establishing guilt for the past behavior of the wrongdoer, and the offender deserves to suffer due to the wrongful behavior. This chapter focuses on the substantive and procedural laws concerning the Biblical death penalty found in Torah and Talmud. Some of biblical faith attempt to justify the American death penalty by the Noahide Law verse in Genesis 9:6, the so-called Rule of Blood: "Whoever shed the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man".
