Attorney says Christ’s death preceded by series of illegalities

The death of Jesus Christ was preceded by a series of judicial actions that were not legal, according to a Missouri attorney who visited Birmingham recently.
   
“He was never legally tried and convicted,” argues attorney Dee Wampler. “The pages of human history present no stronger case of judicial murder than the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, for the simple reason that all forms of law were outraged and trampled underfoot in the proceedings instituted against Him.”
   
The author of “The Trial of Christ: A Twenty-First Century Lawyer Defends Jesus,” Wampler spoke at the March 9 meeting of the Christian Legal Society. A former prosecutor and current attorney working in Springfield, Mo., Wampler focused on Jewish and Roman law at the time of Christ’s death and whether Jesus received a fair trial.
   
Wampler said one question is whether Christ was ever convicted of anything and what.
   
The attorney said today’s courts usually include a pronouncement of guilt by the judge who reads the jury’s verdict.
   
“In Jesus’ case, the Bible doesn’t say He was ever convicted of anything,” Wampler said. “It doesn’t say sentence was passed or judgment was issued.”
   
Instead, Wampler said the Bible indicates Christ was handed over to authorities to be crucified.
   
One possible offense identified by Wampler was treason, quickly adding, however, there was no evidence Christ committed treason, but may have intimidated authorities.
   
“It was not a healthy thing in the early Roman Empire to go around claiming to be a king,” Wampler said. “That didn’t sit real well.”
   
“The Man is given a trial — an illegal trial —  and convicted of the crime of blasphemy, handed over to the Romans, acquitted three times, never convicted of anything and finally executed for a crime that He never committed,” Wampler said.
   
More than 60,000 books have been written in the last century about the life of Christ, according to Wampler — more than any other person in history.
   
“But few have paid attention to His trial,” he said. “It is as if the trial was not really a part of the story of His life.
   
“In even the most controversial trials in world history the accused had guaranteed rights and proof of guilt was first established by competent evidence from reliable witnesses,” Wampler said. “But the treatment of Jesus was brutal and spiteful. I have never seen a more deliberate disregard for the laws and rules of procedure or a trial more filled with conspiracy, animosity and corruption.”
   
Wampler said there are numerous other illegalities in regard to legal proceedings against Christ. Among them:
   
–Jesus was arrested at night, a violation of Hebrew law.
   
–Addressing the trial before the Sanhedrin, Wampler said the accusation against Christ was “vague and indefinite.”
   
“Since there was no defense, there was no legal trial, as the right to combat the allegations in the indictment is the essential principle of liberty under the law,” Wampler said.
   
–No one defended Jesus during the trial before the Sanhedrin, Wampler said.
   
–Wampler said Jesus was acquitted during trials before both Pontius Pilate and Herod and therefore should have been freed.
   
“The death of Christ was divinely ordained,” Wampler said. “It was predicted by the psalmists a thousand years before the event, but never in our history has there been a travesty of justice like the trial of Jesus.”
   
For information about how to order “The Trial of Christ,” contact Wampler at DeeWampler@athome.com.