Justice?

This past Wednesday Troy Davis was put death in the state of Georgia. In 1989, he was convicted of killing an off-duty police officer who was trying to help a homeless man who was getting mugged. Despite there being no physical evidence linking him to the crime, 7 of the 9 eye witnesses recanting their stories, world wide protest from Paris to Peru, from Hong Kong to London, and requests for a stay coming from Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, and Pope Benedict, Troy davis was executed.
The following day I asked my students their thoughts on Capital Punishment and Troy Davis. One student pointed out the fact that Casey Anthony's case was covered by most major news networks and despite some pretty solid evidence against her (in his opinion), she wasn't convicted. Meanwhile, the Troy Davis case didn't reach the public radar (except by way of the independent news network Democracynow.org) until the morning after his sentence was carried out. I pointed out that fact that increasingly our media is being controlled by fewer and fewer corporations that can make for some not so fair and balanced coverage. Another student said she thinks that those who own the media want people to be "good American citizens" and use TV to make people think a certain way (it amazes me what 7th graders can be aware of).
I gave the students homework to "ask a human" their thoughts on Capital Punishment in America and the following day we discussed their findings. One parent pointed to the fact that it costs tax payers money to keep convicts in jail for life. Why should we pay for convicted killers to live out their days in the comfort of prison when that money could be put to better uses. This was presented as one of those logical, matter-of-fact comments that, alongside "people hate America because we are free" and "Obama is a muslim," needn't be checked up on. When you look at the price to execute prisoners in this country, you find that the cost of pre-trials, judges, forensic experts, death row, etc. put the price tag at millions of dollars for the tax payers. It is actually cheaper to incarcerate fellons for life then execute them. (amnestyusa.org)
Aside from the profit-driven argument, I want to focus on the value Christ puts on a person's life. (After all I can't picture Jesus screaming for joy at the GOP debate when the moderator asked Rick Perry a question regarding his state's execution record, SCARY!) It is my humble understanding that God is the ultimate judge and that Christ died so that all could have the chance to be reconciled to the Father. After all there are none righteous, not even one, and with the new qualifications in 1 John about what is considered murdered, simply hating your brother, we all deserve death. But where is justice? The world tells us that killers are the ones that deserve death and that there are times when taking life is justified. But the Word tells us to overcome evil with good and not to repay evil with evil if we want to be children of our Father in Heaven.
I think back to my time in Uganda and the conversations I had with Father Martin at the parish. To be sure there are plenty of people in Uganda that want Joseph Kony dead, but there are others who are ready and willing to extend love and forgiveness to the worst of offenders in order to allow healing and reconciliation to take place. Of course this option is the one that is the hardest to live by, but Jesus didn't call us to an easy life.
My hope is that we can all at least re-examine how to measure the value of life in regards to capital punishment, war, and economics, and that those who claim to follow Christ would base their judgements on the teachings of a homeless Jewish carpenter living in an occupied country loaded down with murderers and injustice, and not political and cultural ideologies that are given to us by politicians who are more concerned with keeping their corporate oligarchic campaign contributors happy. Peace to you all, especially the families of Troy Davis and Mark MacPhail.