The Death of the Death Penalty?
July 16, 2000
Dear Parishioners,
According to one commentator, “historians of the 21st century may well identify 1999 as a watershed year in the long drive to abolish the death penalty in the U.S.” Another columnist wrote last month, “the death of the death penalty may occur in Rome on July 9th; on that Sunday the pope will visit a prison and call for a moratorium on the death penalty.” The momentum and clarity of Catholic Church teaching in opposition to the death penalty has certainly accelerated in the last two years. John Paul II made his first public plea to the U.S. to end execution; the U.S. Catholic bishops issued a collective statement in opposition to the death penalty; the pope revised section 2266 of the Catholic Catechism to remove the statement that capital punishment could be allowed “in cases of extreme necessity” and to describe it as “cruel and unnecessary” to be admitted only if it is the sole alternative; in Pennsylvania, the Cardinal and all bishops called for a moratorium; in Washington, the states’ bishops did the same with the concession “some Catholics may not be aware of how the Church’s teaching about capital punishment has developed”; the bishops of North Carolina issued a similar statement on Good Friday; the Catholic bishops of Texas have confronted Governor Bush asking him to suspend executions with 463 prisoners awaiting execution in his state; Cardinal Keeler of Washington D.C. issued a joint Jewish/Catholic statement in opposition; the president of the Philippines declared a moratorium in response to the country’s bishops; and these are only a few examples.
However, while the Church’s official teaching has crystallized against the death penalty, a majority of American Catholics (only 30% of whom think the death penalty is morally wrong) and Americans at large continue to support the practice. Their reasons include the need to make restitution; fear of the offender being released from prison, and a belief that death deters others as well as the person convicted of the crime. The emotional, relational and even faith testing aspects of what victims of murder and their loved ones experience must be acknowledged. Murder is a grave, irreversible offense against life.
Here are some points to consider and possible action to take in the light of the revised Catechism statement, “the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically non-existent.” (1) the argument for deterrence has never been established. Attorney General Janet Reno, a life long prosecutor, said on January 20th, “I have inquired for most of my adult life about studies that might show that the death penalty is a deterrent. And I have not seen any research that would substantiate that point.” (2) execution of the innocent has been established. Since 1976 at least 85 people on death row have been belatedly proved innocent and released. (3) life imprisonment without possibility of parole has proven to work and can be implemented if the legislative will and popular support are present (plus, for concerned taxpayers it has proven a less expensive way to go). (4) church teaching has developed over the centuries in relation to changing social conditions and currently focuses on the “consistent ethic of life” that insists every life is sacred, not just the lives of the good.
A Moratorium 2000 movement has been organized with the hope that one million signatures on a petition will be delivered by Sr. Helen Prejean to the United Nations on Human Rights Day, December 10th. We’ll let you know more about ways to sign the petition in the early fall.
Your Pastor,
Brian T. Joyce
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