-
Nov 11, 2024 | 
crossway.org | Matthew Martens
An Ongoing ConversationYou have heard it said that justice delayed is justice denied. But I tell you that justice denied is love denied. And love denied to either the crime victim or the criminally accused is justice denied. This, I hope to persuade you, is not merely my view but also Christ’s. In recent years, long-simmering racial tensions have been forced to the surface in the context of our criminal justice system.
-
Oct 19, 2024 | 
crossway.org | Andrew Walker |Christian Walker |Chris Castaldo |Matthew Martens
Wrong Approaches to PoliticsWe should be clear about something: as important as political engagement is, no earthly political utopia is possible. Politics on this side of heaven often amounts to mitigating the effects of sin more than it does to ensuring the perfect political community.
-
Jun 10, 2024 | 
christianscholars.com | Richard J. Mouw |Matthew Martens
Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal. Foreword by Derwin L. GrayPublished by Crossway in 416 pp / $34.99 / 9781433581823 Matthew Martens is convinced that the United States criminal justice system desperately needs reform. While he is eager to have his fellow evangelicals contribute to “meaningful dialogue and charting a way forward” in that task (2), he sees two obstacles that keep that from happening.
-
Jun 6, 2024 | 
erlc.com | Matthew Martens
Political parties have become an all-consuming identity in American culture. They are used to sort, characterize, and even vilify others. Godly men and women, committed to what God’s Word teaches about life, religious liberty, marriage and family, and human dignity, will use wisdom to make different choices regarding which candidates and policies they vote for.
-
Apr 22, 2024 | 
crossway.org | Matthew Martens
AccountabilitySince 1989, 3,272 men and women across the United States have been exonerated after being convicted and collectively serving 28,917 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. That’s an annual average of 96 exonerations, with the rate much higher as of late. During the nine-year period from 2014 through 2022, an average of 172 men and women were exonerated each year—about 3.3 per week. The average exoneree lost nearly nine years in prison before his or her innocence was uncovered.
-
Jan 21, 2024 | 
plough.com | Matthew Martens
Why would someone plead guilty to a crime he or she didn’t commit? Criminal defendants in the United States are constitutionally entitled to a jury trial. And yet guilty pleas, rather than jury trials, are the norm in the American justice system. Roughly 95 percent of criminal cases are resolved through guilty pleas. The reason that innocent people plead guilty is because our system, as currently structured, pressures everyone into pleading guilty.
-
Dec 1, 2023 | 
crossway.org | Matthew Martens
Matt Martens Answers Questions about Criminal JusticeMatt Martens is a trial lawyer in Washington, DC who has spent most of his career in criminal law. He spent nine years as a federal prosecutor and more than ten years as a criminal defense lawyer. As a prosecutor, Martens worked on numerous capital murder cases, and as a defense attorney, he has represented an accused murderer. In this video, Martens offers clear and candid answers to some of the most searched questions about criminal justice.
-
Nov 24, 2023 | 
crossway.org | Matthew Martens |Scott Klusendorf |Courtney Doctor |Joanna Kimbrel
New Books and BiblesBelow is a list of the new and notable resources releasing this month from Crossway. Titles include Reforming Criminal Justice by Matthew T. Martens and the ESV Prayer Journal: 30 Days on Wisdom. Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian ProposalMatthew T.
-
Nov 15, 2023 | 
crossway.org | Matthew Martens |Rebecca McLaughlin
Biblical Justice? The death penalty is the most significant moral issue on which I have changed my mind. In law school, I was a full-throated supporter, but I have come to the view that, as currently practiced in the United States, the death penalty is unjust as the Bible defines justice. This is not to say that capital punishment is categorically unjust. To the contrary, Scripture expressly authorizes it.1 A sentence of death for those who murder is part of the Noahic covenant (Gen.
-
Aug 11, 2023 | 
mondaq.com | Matthew Martens
In This Podcast Episode
In the Public Interest is excited to continue our
miniseries examining landmark decisions recently issued by the
United States Supreme Court. The fourth episode examines the
Court's decision in Groff v. DeJoy, a case centered
around a postal worker who sought a religious accommodation from
his employer to not work on Sundays in observance of the
Sabbath.
