The Death Penalty
"Perspectives
on the Death Penalty" was a workshop presented at the 2009 Faith
Formation Conference, facilitated by Terry McCaffrey, member and
president of the California People of Faith Working Against the Death
Penalty (CPF). To read an article about this conference which appeared
in the Valley Catholic, click here.
Reflections on the Death Penalty -- October 12, 2006:
October
is Respect Life Month. In the words of Bishop McGrath from San Jose
"Life is to be respected at all stages." This means that we support the
life of the unborn and it also means that we support the life of those
who kill.
Although I am fortunate that none of my loved ones has
been murdered, I would like to share some of my experiences with those
that have been touched by the death penalty. I have met family members
that have lost a loved one to violence. Their pain is enormous. Some are
very angry. But some have transformed their pain and have come to
forgive the perpetrator.
But there are others who are also
suffering. I have met a mother whose son is on death row. Every other
weekend she travels from Santa Monica to visit her son in San Quentin.
She is devastated.
Then there are those who carry out executions.
A few years ago I interviewed a Warden who was in charge of executing
people. In his interview he said, each night after an execution, "I went
home to my house in the middle of the night and climbed into the shower
and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. But you can't make yourself
feel clean."
"I was troubled as I stood and watched these guys
die in the gas chamber thinking: What are my children deep down thinking
of their father? And ultimately what is my God going to ask of me when
my time comes to be judged?"
So you see there is plenty of pain to go all around.
For
me the crucial issue about the death penalty is what does Jesus have to
say. We have a direct answer. When Jesus was confronted by the woman
who was about to be stoned to death he said, "Let you who is without sin
cast the first stone." Jesus was about love, compassion and
forgiveness. There is no love and compassion about killing someone.
The
message of forgiveness and reconciliation is a very difficult one to
bridge. Yet in our culture of violence we have a recent sterling example
that stands out. You will all be familiar with the killing of five
Amish school girls in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. The universal
response of the Amish community was one of forgiveness. In fact they
have set up a trust fund to take care of the family of the perpetrator
of this crime.
The challenge of the Gospel is not an easy path to follow. This is the challenge we face regarding the death penalty.
Terry McCaffrey
A Catholic Response to the Death Penalty
The
Catholic Church has been an aggressive opponent of capital punishment
since at least 1995 when Pope John Paul II issued Evangelium Vitae. He
argued that the extent of punishment ought not to go to the extreme of
executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity when it
would not be possible otherwise to defend society. “Today, however,
such cases are very rare if not practically nonexistent.” He went on to
say that if bloodless means are sufficient to protect public order and
safety they are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
(The new Catechism of the Catholic Church also reflects this
position.) He mentioned that support for the death penalty is generally
rooted in the desire for revenge and that justice can never be achieved
through vengeance.
John Paul II reminds us that Jesus’ position
on the death penalty was clear: turn the other cheek and forgive. Pope
Benedict XVI in his first Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, states
that the Holy Spirit harmonizes our hearts with the heart of Christ so
that we see others with the eyes of Christ. Catholics are committed to
justice and called to advocacy and it is the responsibility of lay
faithful to work directly for a just ordering of society. During her
recent visit to the Vatican, the president of the Philippines was
greeted by Pope Benedict with the words, “Well done!” The Pope was
referring to her decisive role in the abolition of the death penalty in
her country.
In the 1994, the U.S. Catholic Bishops wrote in
their pastoral message, Confronting a Culture of Violence, that our
society looks to a reliance on the death penalty to deal with crime and
that we are tragically turning to violence in the search for quick and
easy answers to complex human problems. Violence is not the solution;
it is the most clear sign of our failures. We cannot teach that killing
is wrong by killing. The cycle of violence diminishes us all,
especially our children. How do we teach the young to curb their
violence when we embrace it as the solution to social problems?
Violence is a lie for it goes against the truth of our faith, the truth
of our humanity.
“We believe that capital punishment is not just a
question of public policy, but is at its very core a moral issue, and
therefore a religious issue and we must speak to it.”
Archbishop John Roach, St. Paul-Minneapolis.
Evolving Standards of Justice
We
can observe an evolution in religious teaching as societal conditions
and attitudes have evolved. History tells us the application of the
death penalty (including the Church's penalty for heresy) was more
frequent and more savage. Today, with few exceptions, developed and
industrialized nations execute quickly and more humanely; indeed, most
of them have abolished the death penalty. According to Amnesty
International, in 2005, 94 per cent of all known executions took place
in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the USA. Most European and Latin
American countries have abolished capital punishment. (In the U.S. there
are 12 states and the District of Columbia without the death penalty.)
Notably, Pope John Paul II and his bishops have been very vigorous in
their opposition. But doesn't it almost go against human nature and our
sense of justice to feel concern about executing a "clearly-guilty" and
"fairly-convicted" killer who, besides a dead victim, has offended the
grieving families and friends and a society whose fabric of order has
been torn by that act? "An eye for an eye . . . " is scriptural, and lt
seems SO RIGHT! in such a case. Lex talionis - the law of retaliation.
A Little History
In
the following we rely on two additional sources: 1. "Dictionary of
Biblical Theology", Xavier Leon-Dufour, 2nd ed. 1973 (vide "Vengeance")
2. Dictionary of the Bible", John L. McKenzie, S.J., 1965 (vide
"Avenger" and "Murder".]
In a nomadic society, before settlements
and laws became fixed, the clan was the protector of it members or it
killed a murderer and thus safeguarded justice. (But nothing then
prevented the killer's clan from retaliating, and the resulting feuds
went on and on.) With the advance of a more ordered civilization the
right of retribution passed to society and its laws. Gradually there
were restraints on excesses of anger (eye for eye Ex. 21:23-25 = tit for
tat). There was a call for measured retaliation (Dt. 19:6);
determination of intent (Dt. 19:4); restraint on revenge against
countrymen (Lv. 19:17-18), and pardon of countrymen (Jg. 15: 3,7) . All
this showed less rigor, more restraint and more selectivity. [Still,
this was no namby-pamby justice system. The law killed for adultery,
idolatry, false prophecy, working on the Sabbath, sorcery, cursing God,
and disobedience to religious authorities.]
Lastly, it was Jesus
who said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." - the
ultimate rejection of vengeance. . . . God/Man said this.
The Real Question
The
rationale for the Catechism's stricture against the death penalty is
public order and the safety of persons. There exists in the U.S. (and in
all non-death penalty nations) a sentence of Life Without Parole (LWOP)
= "throw away the key" to provide this safeguard. LWOP, moreover, does
not risk the execution of an innocent person. Countless news stories
have shown the danger: In the past 20 years 112 people have been removed
from Death Row after appellate judicial review. Some reasons? Witness
perjury, police/prosecutorial/juror misconduct, defendant's mental
incapacity, inadequate defense counsel and, more recently, the certainty
of DNA evidence. These instances raise question about the moral
certitude of "clearly-guilty" and "fairly-convicted". Can there ever be
foolproof, error-free death penalty convictions? It is good we ask these
questions now. Since 1976 more than 880 men and women have been
executed. In our state more than 630 await execution. We worship a God
of justice and a God of love and forgiveness and mercy. How does He keep
it all straight?
Update October 2006
Thirty-eight
states have constitutions which allow capital punishment. Twelve do
not. From time to time there are efforts to allow executions in those
twelve, some to expand the application of the death penalty beyond the
limits now allowed in some states and some to eliminate capital
punishment where now allowed. What follows is a look at recent efforts.
WISCONSIN:
The November ballot has an advisory (non-binding) referendum to ask
voters whether the death penalty should be restored after an absence of
153 years. This would be for cases involving a person convicted of
first-degree intentional homicide if the conviction is supported by DNA
evidence.
The Assembly had passed a similar measure earlier; the
Senate voted 18-15 for the referendum. The incumbent governor opposes
capital punishment; his opponent favors it. Both are Catholic.
A
recent poll reflects that 55.6% of voters favor the measure but, when
given a choice between execution and life without parole, 45% chose
death and 50% preferred imprisonment.
In opposing the measure,
the Wisconsin Catholic Conference pointed out that the state has a
murder rate below the national average and one far below many states
which perform executions frequently.
KANSAS: The Kansas Catholic
Conference continues to work to repeal the Kansas death penalty.
Background: After the Kansas Supreme Court found one provision of the
law unconstitutional, the Supreme Court of the U.S. reversed (5-4) the
decision. At issue: Is it unfair to defendants to mandate a death
sentence when a jury finds that the aggravating and mitigating
circumstances are equal? The Kansas bishops: "In this case the Supreme
Court said a tie goes to the state instead of the defendant."
MICHIGAN:
There have been no executions, even before Michigan became a state in
1837. Its constitution bans capital punishment and its laws mandate life
without parole for first-degree murder. Earlier this year a man
committed three violent murders, and the killings moved the district's
assemblyman to move to permit executions.
A 2/3 vote in both
houses is necessary to change the constitution. The issue awaits
consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.
MISSOURI: In June
a U.S. District Court found that the state's execution procedure could
cause "unconstitutional pain and suffering." (In California and several
other states this same issue has been raised.) The court decision has
been appealed by the Attorney General.
The bishops of Missouri
wrote a pastoral letter urging messages to state and national
legislators to push for a halt to executions and an end to capital
punishment. ". . . more violence is not a solution to society's
problems."
NEVADA: The state recorded its twelfth execution since
capital punishment was restored in 1977. The prisoner denied his guilt
but waived his right to appeal, saying he preferred death to
imprisonment during the lengthy appeals process. (A curious fact: Of the
11 others executed earlier, all but one waived appeal.)
NEW
JERSEY: The state has formed a Death Penalty Study Commission. A
spokesman for the state's bishops testified that 54% of churchgoers
favored life without parole to execution. In other testimony, victims'
family members belonging to Murder Victims' Family Members for
Reconciliation gave their testimony that they did not seek the death
penalty for killers of their families.
TENNESSEE: In June the
state executed the second person in the past 46 years. The state's
bishops prayed for the victims, their families and for the killer and
his family and said, in a statement, " . . . our modern society clearly
has means to provide for the safety of its members without resorting to
capital punishment."
VIRGINIA: The governor postponed an
execution for six months pending a further study of the prisoner's
mental retardation or mental illness Without further analysis, he said,
he would consider neither execution nor clemency.
Also, the Virginia
Catholic Conferences is opposing three bills which expand the
circumstances allowing the a death sentence to be imposed.
HOW ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD?
PHILIPPINES:
President Macapagel-Arroyo signed a law to replace life without parole
for capital punishment. At the same time she commuted the death
sentences of all 1205 people on death row to LWOP. (Pope Benedict XVI
praised her action.)
POLAND: Poland's president urged the
European Union to return to capital punishment. (Membership in the EU
requires or strongly urges abolition of the death penalty.) The proposal
was rejected.
PERU: Peru's bishops opposed a measure to apply
the death penalty to individuals who sexually assault and murder minors.
Their statement underlined the primacy and inviolability of human life
and declared that all killing is an offense against God, the sole owner
of life.
ALGERIA: Algeria announced in a radio address a plan to
end capital punishment. It will be the first Arab country to do so.
Algeria has not had an execution in 13 years. Abolition "is an urgent
measure essential for the constitution of a state based on rights," and
capital punishment is "totally absurd and has no effect on the reduction
of crime," said a spokesman.
CHINA: In April China ratified an
extradition treaty with Spain in which it agreed not to execute
repatriated criminals. (Last year China executed more than four times as
many people as all other countries combined.)
GREAT BRITAIN:
Forty years ago the death penalty was abolished. Ever since then there
has been a strong sentiment to restore it. Now, polls show, for the
first time public support for restoration has dropped to 49%.
KYRGYZSTAN: A death penalty moratorium has been in place since 1998, and legislators seem to be moving toward abolition.
RUSSIA:
There has been a moratorium for 10 years. Recently, despite very, very
strong pressure for the execution of the only surviving participant in
the Beslan school massacre (330 deaths), a judge imposed a sentence of
life without parole.
Walt Lundin, Parish Human Concerns Committee, October 2007
Update January 2007
INTERNATIONAL
MOLDOVA abolished the death penalty.
RWANDA
pledged to pass legislation by the end of 2006 [unable to learn if this
occurred] to abolish the death penalty. Rwanda wants to hold war crimes
trials for 1994 genocide. Most countries holding those accused will not
extradite to a death penalty nation.
The president of the
Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace made a statement soon
after the hanging of Saddam Hussein. "The killing of the guilty is not
the way to rebuild justice and reconcile society; rather there is a risk
of nourishing the spirit of revenge and inciting fresh violence."
Under
domestic and international criticism, CHINA adopted new rules requiring
Supreme Court review of all death sentences. Final review had been
relegated to provincial courts in 1983. [Some observers estimate that
China has accounted for 80% of the world's executions.]
JAPANese
courts sentenced 60 people to death in 2006, the largest number in 26
years. Japan has been experiencing an increase in violent crimes.
[Ninety people are now on Japan's Death Row.]
ITALY - Just after
Hussein's hanging the Italian government petitioned the U.N. to begin a
process for an international moratorium on the death penalty. [The
Italian constitution bans the death penalty.]
UNITED NATIONS
In
July 2006 the U.N. Human Rights Commission recommended a U.S.
moratorium on the death penalty. ". . . the death penalty may be imposed
disproportionately on ethnic minorities as well as on low income
groups, a problem which does not seem to be fully acknowledged." The
panel also urged the U.S. to limit the number of crimes punishable by
the death penalty and to review its suggestion of disproportionate
application. [The panel has no authority to enforce its
recommendations.]
The U.N.'s new Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon,
commented on Hussein's hanging. He said that capital punishment is an
issue for each country to decide. Later, his spokeswoman said his
opinion was a personal one. She acknowledged that the U.N. policy is
against executions. [South Korea, Ki-moon's country, has not banned the
death penalty.]
UNITED STATES
MISSOURI halted executions because of a challenge to its lethal injection procedures. [See TE, CA, MD, SD and FL below.]
SOUTH
CAROLINA's governor signed a bill which allows the death penalty on
those convicted of two or more sex crimes against children under age 11.
TENNESSEE
- The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a state Supreme
Court decision that its method of execution was not "cruel and unusual."
VERMONT
- A federal jury imposed the death penalty on a murderer. This was the
first death sentence issued since 1954. [The state eliminated the death
penalty in 1987.]
CALIFORNIA - Last year U.S. District Court
Judge Jeremy Fogel ordered the state to review its execution protocols.
Recently the Attorney General informed him that a report would be
forthcoming in May. The Attorney General asked for secrecy about the
deliberations and anonymity for the consultants used.
NEW JERSEY -
A 13-person legislative commission called for abolition of the death
penalty. One member dissented. The governor said he supports the
recommendation.
MARYLAND's death penalty protocols are under
court review. Meanwhile, the newly-elected governor announced plans to
ask the legislature to repeal the death penalty.
TEXAS - Over the
past 10 years the number of death penalty sentences has dropped 65%,
(40 in 1996; 14 in FY 2006) The number of murders was pretty stable -
1476 in 1996; 1405 in 2005.
FLORIDA's Gov. Bush ordered a
moratorium on executions and formed an expert panel to review
procedures, this after the last execution took more than twice as long
and required a second lethal injection.
NORTH DAKOTA - The bishop
of Fargo criticized the death penalty sentence imposed by a federal
jury on a man guilty of murdering a college student: ". . . it
reinforces the false perspective of revenge as justice."
SOUTH
DAKOTA - Gov. Grounds stayed a lethal injection execution until July,
pending a legislative review of a required 2-drug injection and a
planned 3-drug method.
WISCONSIN - [See Death Penalty Updates No.
I for background.] Death penalty reinstatement advocates are dubious of
the outcome of the pending vote. The make-up of the Senate changed with
the November election, and the re-elected governor is likely to veto an
affirmative vote.
PUERTO RICO - A federal jury sentenced a
killer to life instead of death, despite the urging of the U.S.
prosecutor. (Puerto Rico's territorial legislature abolished the death
penalty 80 years ago.)
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS - The annual
convention of the KofC in August resolved ". . . to speak out to our
elected representatives about our continued opposition to the death
penalty." (KofC opposition dates from 2000.)
Walt Lundin, Parish Human Concerns Committee, July 2007
Update August 2007
NEW
JERSEY - The Senate Judiciary Committee (8-2) approved repeal of
capital punishment. The measure will go to the Senate in Nov. or Dec.,
then to the Assembly. The governor has said he'll sign it.
NEW
YORK - [New York's highest court ruled in 2004 that major portions of
the current execution law were unconstitutional.] The Senate has now
passed a bill to restore capital punishment for killers of police and
correctional officers; however the Speaker of the Assembly said the
measure would not likely be considered there.
(In both states Catholic bishops issued strong statements for repeal and against restoration.)
CLOSE - - - BUT NO CIGAR
MARYLAND
- The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee (5-5) killed a measure to
end executions. The House of Delegates had indicated strong backing for
abolition.
MONTANA - The Senate (27-21) approved abolition; the House Judiciary Committee (9-8) tabled it.
NEBRASKA
- The unicameral legislature defeated (25-24) a bill to end executions.
(The governor had said he'd veto the measure if it passed.)
NEW MEXICO - A House-passed (41-28) repeal was tabled by the Senate Judiciary Committee (4-5).
NEW HAMPSHIRE - The House (no vote count available) rejected a bill to replace the death penalty with life without parole.
Even
these narrow misses have cumulative value One criterion used by the
Supreme Court is "evolving standards of decency". This concept was
mentioned in its decision to ban executions of juvenile offenders. (The
Court noted thathirty states had already banned this already.)
NORTH
CAROLINA - The Medical Board adopted a policy that physicians should
not facilitate executions beyond being present, as state law requires.
(Many state medical boards discourage physician participation.)
INDIANA
- The state American Bar Association Assessment Team called for a
moratorium. It said only 10 of the ABA's 79 death penalty criteria had
been met. Among the deficiencies:
1. No ban on executing mentally ill people.
2. Not all interrogations are recorded.
3.
No independent authority appoints defense attorneys. 4. There are not
tough qualifications for or monitoring of defense attorneys.
INTERNATIONAL
IRELAND
- Mr. Justice Scalia (Irish Times, Mar. 7), speaking at University
College Dublin said he would resign from the bench if he learned that
Catholic doctrine prohibited the death penalty. (A month earlier the
Vatican sent a message to the 3rd annual World Congress calling capital
punishment "an affront to human dignity."
SOUTH AFRICA - The President, despite a rising crime rate, said reinstatement of the death penalty was not an option.
ZAMBIA - The President said he'll sign no death warrants. He pledged to commute all current executions to life without parole.
FRANCE - Parliament banned executions and made the ban a part of the Constitution.
MOROCCO
is the first Arab state to abolish capital punishment. Said a
proponent, "The positive aspects of Islam need to be stressed. It does
not order people to kill, carry out reprisals or state executions."
Worldwide
there were 1,591 executions in 2006, down from 2005's 2,198. Executions
were heavily concentrated in China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and the United
States.
Walt Lundin, Parish Human Concerns Committee, August 2007