Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News
Rahmanullah Lakanwal & The Unfairness of The Death Penalty

Rahmanullah Lakanwal & The Unfairness of The Death Penalty

Last updated on: November 27, 2025 at 11:30 pm by Jeff Hood

0 Comments

Rahmanullah Lakanwal & The Unfairness of The Death Penalty 2025-11-27T23:30:05-06:00 Jeff Hood

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Due Process

Attorney General Pam Bondi / Canva AI

Due Process: Rahmanullah Lakanwal and the Eternal Unfairness of the Death Penalty

The Immediate Shock, Public Reaction & Due Process

When a crime shocks the public, the first casualty is often patience. The second is principle (…due process). In the aftermath of the shooting that left two National Guard members mortally wounded in Washington, D.C., the nation entered a period of deep grief. Officials confirmed that U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom has died, and leaders across the country urged Americans to pray for U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who was critically injured. In this climate of sorrow and fear, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on national television (Fox News) and declared, “If something happens… we will do everything in our power to seek the death penalty against that monster who should not have been in our country.”

Her words were meant to signal strength in a moment of instability. Yet statements like these reveal something deeper and far more troubling…the ease with which political actors are willing to abandon constitutional commitments when public emotion surges. They demonstrate precisely why Rahmanullah Lakanwal…and every accused person…must receive full due process…and why a system that allows state officials to prejudge defendants can never fairly administer the death penalty.

The Foundation of Due Process

Due process is not a luxury reserved for the innocent or the sympathetic. It is the foundation of our criminal justice system. The guarantee that the state may not take a person’s liberty without meeting the highest standards of proof in a neutral forum is the undergirding of everything we claim to believe about government. The Constitution makes no exceptions for immigration status, nationality or moments of collective anger. It insists that every defendant is presumed innocent, entitled to counsel, entitled to a fair and impartial jury and protected from governmental actions that could taint the trial process. These protections stand precisely so that in moments of intense public grief…when the desire for immediate resolution is overwhelming…the law does not bend to passion.

How Political Statements Undermine Due Process

Attorney General Bondi’s televised comments undermine nearly every one of these protections. By labeling Lakanwal a “monster”…she erased the presumption of innocence and transmitted a message to potential jurors…this case is already settled. When an official with a national platform declares guilt before evidence is presented, the integrity of the trial process becomes compromised before it begins. A jury pool exposed to this rhetoric cannot easily be asked to approach the case without prejudice. And because her statement was made in the language of public protection…urging prayer and promising swift retribution…it becomes more than commentary…it becomes a directive about what the public should expect and demand.

Even more troubling is her statement that Lakanwal “should not have been in our country.” This is not an argument about evidence or culpability. It is an invocation of outsider status as an aggravating factor. It subtly suggests that his alleged actions are uniquely heinous not because of what occurred…but because of who he is and where he is from. Equal protection guarantees that foreign nationals and citizens should stand on the same legal ground in a criminal proceeding such as this. Anything that compromises such footing perverts due process.

The Inherent Problems with the Death Penalty

This is where the problem with the death penalty becomes undeniable. The death penalty is not simply another punishment. It demands a fairness standard beyond anything else in the criminal system, because it is irreversible. Yet the political environment surrounding capital cases actively undermines such fairness. Prosecutors and elected officials often use capital cases as opportunities to display toughness…to respond to public fear…or to demonstrate loyalty to particular constituencies. Media pressure compounds these incentives. The result is a climate where objectivity is nearly impossible…and where political advantage can drive decisions about who lives and who dies.

Attorney General Bondi’s remarks illustrate how easily this happens. Before any trial, before any cross-examination or before evidence is fully known, a political figure just stood on national television and promised the harshest possible punishment. This transforms capital punishment into a spectacle rather than a sober legal process. It makes death an expectation before guilt is established. In such an environment, can we honestly claim that the ultimate punishment can ever be imposed fairly?

Due Process is in Greater Danger in High-Profile Cases

For Lakanwal specifically, due process is especially essential. Initial facts in high profile cases are often incomplete or incorrect. Individuals accused of violence against law enforcement or military personnel face heightened public scrutiny and pressure long before trial. Foreign nationals face additional barriers…lack of familiarity with the legal system, language obstacles and public suspicion fueled by stereotypes. The legal system’s rigor exists precisely because these vulnerabilities are real. When officials make statements like Attorney General Bondi’s, they exploit these vulnerabilities rather than guard against them…thereby poisoning the entire process.

The Stakes for Victims’ Families

The moral stakes are not limited to defendants. The families of Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe…and the communities surrounding them…deserve a process that is unimpeachably fair. When prosecutors or officials prejudge a case, they endanger the entire prosecution. Convictions won through tainted proceedings are vulnerable to appeal, reversal or decades long delays. Families who are told that death will bring closure may instead endure decades upon decades of uncertainty because the state rushed to promise a result it could not constitutionally secure. True justice for victims is grounded in legitimacy, not spectacle.

Why the Death Penalty Cannot Be Fair

Ultimately, the core argument is simple…if a state official can publicly pronounce someone a monster and promise their execution before trial…the system administering that execution is not neutral. It is political. It is emotional. It is vulnerable to prejudice, xenophobia and impulse. And a system shaped by those forces cannot justly determine who should die.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal deserves due process not because he is innocent…and not because the allegations are trivial…but because due process is the only thing that stands between justice and vengeance. When public officials abandon those principles, they reveal that the death penalty…dependent as it is on perfect fairness…can never coexist with the realities of human emotion and political ambition. Comments like Attorney General Bondi’s do not simply threaten one man’s due process/trial…they expose why our society is fundamentally incapable of administering the death penalty.
*
*
*If you would like to support the Execution Intervention Project (the organization that financially supports Dr. Hood’s work), click here.

Catholic

Politics and Religion

About The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood

The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood is a theologian, writer and activist who has spent years ministering to people on death row. As a spiritual advisor and witness to executions, he speaks out against state violence and calls for a society rooted in justice, mercy and the sacredness of life. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

November 27, 2025

Beyond The Death Penalty: The Human Evolutionary Journey

Next Post

November 29, 2025 Staying Awake in a Sleeping World - First Sunday of Advent

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"'God’s Sheep on the Sidewalk' is immensely thought-provoking and conscience-stirring. Thanks. "The people out there ..."

Dr.Cajetan Coelho

God’s Sheep: The Ones Who Sleep ..."

"Greetings, Jeff, and bless you for your relentlessly regular fierce posts and your profound commitments ..."

DCF

Between: On the Person and Character ..."

"God as the Between, thoughts:As a child we were taught, in the blue or green ..."

madalyn baumstark

Between: On the Person and Character ..."

"Sometimes we make it harder than it is. Not saying things don't bring us to ..."

Patrick Dennis

Get Behind Me, Satan: A Death ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Danny & Jeff fresh writings latest poetics north texas fellowship of reconciliation Sermon theology from death row Thoughts Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

At a well in Samaria, I asked a woman for a drink and told her about living water. How many husbands had she had?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Three Five Two Seven