Florida Sheriff: culture of death from abortion leads to violent crime

A Florida Sheriff is blaming violent crime on the “culture of death” from abortion, because “we no longer believe in the sanctity of life.”

Sheriff John Rutherford has risen up in his career in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department for over 40 years. Rutherford, who began his law enforcement career in 1974, was elected Sheriff of Duval County in 2003 but says he is not running again.

Instead, Sheriff Rutherford said he is contemplating running for the Florida House of Representatives in 2016 when Jacksonville Republican State Rep. Lake Ray’s seat becomes vacant.

In a recent interview with the Florida Times Union, Sheriff Rutherford, who called his job his ministry, attributed the violence we see in America to a “culture of death” that he says began with the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe vs. Wade which legalized abortion on demand in all 50 states.

“We no longer believe in the sanctity of life,” he said.

The sheriff also said that the violent movies and video games also attribute to the culture of death.

“They almost glorify death,” Sheriff Rutherford points out, “I don’t think these kids when they are killing each other understand they ain’t coming back. … This whole culture of death we have created, it’s a major problem.”

According to the paper, Rutherford spoke about law enforcement bringing him to God, and his belief in the sanctity of life changing his position on the death penalty.

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future,” he said.

“I think the first degradation of the sanctity of life began with Roe v. Wade. That’s why I referenced that,” Sheriff Rutherford told another news outlet.

“Look, I believe in the sanctity of life. And so, whether you kill a baby in the womb or you kill a baby at 1st and Main – that’s geography! Neither one of those respects the sanctity of life,” he stated.