A Catholic Call to Abolish the Death Penalty

[rug]

By: Tobias Winright
Posted on September 26, 2011

There were two state-sanctioned executions in the United States on September 21, 2011. In Georgia, Troy Anthony Davis, an African American man, was put to death for the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. In Texas, Lawrence Brewer, a white supremacist, was executed for his participation in the racist hate crime dragging murder of James Byrd in Jasper in 1998. As theologians, scholars, and social justice advocates who participate in the public discussion of Catholic theology, we protest the state-sanctioned killings of both of these men, and we call for the abolition of the death penalty in the US.

Davis’ execution is particularly troubling for it shines a stark light upon many longstanding concerns about capital punishment in the US. We mourn the death of Officer MacPhail and express our deepest sympathies to his family for their tragic loss. However, we believe that a grave miscarriage of justice took place with Davis’ execution. As many legal experts have pointed out, including former FBI Director and federal judge and prosecutor William S. Sessions, serious doubt remains about Davis’ guilt. Until his last breath he maintained his innocence. The failure of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, a Federal Appeals Judge, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court to grant Davis a new trial reveals a deeply flawed justice system. We therefore call upon lawmakers and President Obama to immediately repeal the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which created the legal conditions for executing a man whose guilt was not established beyond reasonable doubt.

Even those who do not share our faith convictions ought to recognize, as Justice William J. Brennan put it, “the death penalty is imposed not only in a freakish and discriminatory manner, but also in some cases upon defendants who are innocent.” The horrific legacy of lynching in the US casts its evil shadow over current application of the death penalty. Studies have shown that black defendants are more likely to receive the death penalty. In many states with capital punishment, defendants are from 3 to 5 times more likely to be executed if their victim was white. In states that retain the death penalty, 98 percent of district attorneys are white and only 1 percent are black. Execution is also irrevocable, and innocent people have likely been victims of it. Since 1973, 138 persons have been exonerated from death row, most of whom were people of color and economically poor.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that “the sanction of death, when it is not necessary to protect society, violates respect for human life and dignity…Its application is deeply flawed and can be irreversibly wrong, is prone to errors, and is biased by factors such as race, the quality of legal representation, and where the crime was committed. We have other ways to punish criminals and protect society.” In earlier eras, Roman Catholic tradition acknowledged the necessity of capital punishment, in rare cases, to protect citizens from threats to the common good. In recent times, with more secure prison facilities that give us the means to offer such protection without executions, our church leaders have affirmed the need to eradicate the death penalty.

http://catholicmoraltheology.com/a-catholic-call-to-abolish-the-death-penalty/

[dmallind]

1. Doesn't seem to be getting to the pews

A vast majority of Catholics support the DP (+28%)- and it's only as close as it is because of Hispanics. Among white Catholics it's more than 2/3 support and +42%.

Of course less than 1/3 of Catholics report hearing the clergy speak out on it.

http://pewforum.org/Death-Penalty/Public-Opinion-on-the-Death-Penalty.aspx

[Laura PourMeADrink]

2. this makes me want to go back to church ! Bravo Catholic church !

Read John Grisham's book on the death penalty on paperback - "The Confession". Excellant, page-turner. Grisham trashes the death penalty and the stupid mentality of the PTB in Texas.

I swear it makes you want to run out tomorrow and join an abolitionist group.

Thanks for posting...move to General

[Thats my opinion]

3. you would be surprised.

This position has increasing respect in the pews not only in Catholic churches but also in the groups of many other faiths. The churches where I live are solid about this. Death Penalty Focus is largely made up of religious groups.

I would like anyone who knows of action or groups in the non-religious world that have made statements and/or taken action about the death penalty to get listed on r/t. Where is the other aggressive action on this subject?

[darkstar3]

4. If motivation doesn't matter, as you repeatedly say, then why do you care?

[cleanhippie]

12. Because when it's religious motivation, it DOES matter! (As long as it was a GOOD deed, of course)

If it was a horrible thing, then religion played no part.

[skepticscott]

7. Even if there were none

Since it is religious believers in the overwhelming majority who are responsible for the state of the death penalty in this country today, why should they not be responsible for the overwhelming majority of the effort to tear it down?

[trotsky]

8. You claim to want to work together on progressive issues...

but then you want to single out non-believers to make sure their groups, such as they are, are as "up to snuff" as the believers' are. For one, you are doing an apples-to-oranges comparison. Non-believers wanting to work against the death penalty just join secular groups with that goal, such as Amnesty International. Since a greater percentage of non-believers than believers oppose the death penalty to begin with, and since capital punishment isn't particularly a secularist vs. religionist position, I don't think you're going to find the kind of statements you're looking for.

[dmallind]

10. ...and your thoughts on the clearly overwhelming DP support amongst the religious at my cite?

[Thats my opinion]

14. By far the majority of all American still

support the death penalty. And this is true among the religious. But there is a growing clamor among both groups to overturn the death penalty in state after state--largely led by religious leaders. I don't apologize for Christians who are pro execution. But life moves forward not on the basis of a democratic vote, but on the backs of a minority with a vision.

Do some of you resent the fact that religious people are involved in this struggle? If not, why not say an encouraging word that they are instead of putting them down just because most other religious folk are not on board?

[darkstar3]

17. Two posts just before yours did exactly that.

Of course you ignored it because it didn't fit your narrative. And BTW, "largely led by religious leaders"? Amnesty International was there first, so your boys are following behind.

[Thats my opinion]

15. By far the majority of all American still

Sorry--pushed the button twice by mistake

support the death penalty. And this is true among the religious. But there is a growing clamor among both groups to overturn the death penalty in state after state--largely led by religious leaders. I don't apologize for Christians who are pro execution. But life moves forward not on the basis of a democratic vote, but on the backs of a minority with a vision.

Do some of you resent the fact that religious people are involved in this struggle? If not, why not say an encouraging word that they are instead of putting them down just because most other religious folk are not on board?

[dmallind]

16. Well personally I disagree with this "struggle", but don't resent any group in it

However all the data in this thread show that religious people are either equally or MORE likely to support the DP. Atheists are overwhelmingly left of center where DP foes are more likely, while certain religious groups, albeit small ones like Quakers, are ideologically opposed to any violence. Overall I don't think there's any real correlation let alone causation though between religious belief and DP stance. Religious groups can get involved on either side for all I care.

The assumption that anti-DP is the more moral stance is much more troubling to me. There have certainly been people on Death Row proven to be innocent, but as yet no executed person that I am aware of. Has it happened? Almost certainly - assuming by innocent we mean of the specific crime. However there are many more certain innocent deaths at the hands of convicted killers who were paroled, or escaped, or killed in prison. In fact there are more of those innocent victims than every executed person since reinstitution. I wonder why these innocent deaths get so little shrift from DP foes. There is one overriding argument for the DP. An absolute statement that cannot be made by any counterargument. There is ZERO chance of an executed person killing again. Can't be said about prison, about solitary, about Supermax, about rehabilitation, about work progrms, about religion, about parole, about restitution, about drug treatment. Nothing but execution precludes absolutely any future victims.

[LAGC]

5. Support for the Death Penalty by Religious Preference

Hmm...

[LeftishBrit]

6. Glad to hear that.

[trotsky]

9. Here's hoping for a call to abolish the coverup of pedophilia!

Go Popey!

[LeftishBrit]

11. There is in fact a lot of pressure from Enda Kenny and the Irish government on this issue..

and they and most of the population are Catholic, so it does seem to show divisions among Catholics on this issues.

Not a fan of the current Pope, or of the current status of the Vatican as an institution; but there are a number of people in the Catholic church who act for good. I suppose it's the same with most institutions (churches, governments, media), which is why greater transparency is importatn everywhere.

[rug]

18. Haven't I seen you in the execute pedophiles threads?

[Name removed]

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[Deep13]

13. Agreed. Good of them to take a stand on it. nt

[Name removed]

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