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Posted: May 11th, 2007 at 1:13am By: Kevin Considine
From 1976 to June 2005 the U.S. government executed 962 men and 10 women. On average, about 30 people are executed each year, and since the 1970s over 120 people have been exonerated of their alleged crimes.
That last statistic is one that has given me pause. It's unconscionable that innocent people have been put on death row for crimes they didn't commit. And it has prompted me to rethink capital punishment in the United States.
Along the way I found out that I'm not alone in trying to rethink this issue. For the past 25 years the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been working to end the death penalty in the United States.
As recently as 2005 the Bishops' Conference reiterated their stance on this issue. In their document entitled "A Culture of Life and a Penalty of Death" they open by saying that the death penalty is "unnecessary and unjustified in our time and circumstances."
The bishops go on to give four broad reasons for their continuing opposition to the death penalty:
It violates the dignity of human life if used when not necessary to protect society
It diminishes the humanity of all of us since it is in our name
Its application is error-prone, fatally flawed, irreversible and susceptible to being applied more often because of human prejudice than justice
We have other ways to suitably punish such crimes and protect society
To me, the most pressing of these reasons is the third one. It is a fact that the death penalty is not an objective punishment. It is meted out as a sentence more often when the defendant is African-American, the defendant receives poor legal representation or there is some sort of prosecutorial misconduct.
For the above reasons the bishops declare: "We renew our common conviction that it is time for our nation to abandon the illusion that we can protect life by taking life. Ending the use of the death penalty would be one important step away from a culture of death toward building a culture of life."
Theologically, the bishops offer firm footing for their position. They argue: "We are created in God's image and redeemed by Jesus Christ, who himself was crucified. Those harmed by violence deserve both justice and compassion. Those who inflict such harm must be held accountable. Within the Catholic tradition, punishment has several purposes: redressing the disorder caused by the offense, i.e., just retribution; defending public order; deterring future wrongdoing; and promoting reform, repentance and conversion of those who commit evil acts."
And they observe: "Each of us is called to respect the life and dignity of every human being. Even when people deny the dignity of others, we must still recognize that their dignity is a gift from God and is not something that is earned or lost through their behavior. Respect for life applies to all, even the perpetrators of terrible acts. Punishment should be consistent with the demands of justice and with respect for human life and dignity."
They also make it an issue to debunk the reasoning of "eye for an eye," "tooth for a tooth." As the bishops point out, when these Scripture references are placed in their historical context, it becomes quite clear that they were more concerned with limiting the retribution extracted for crimes in society.
As you might guess, the bishops are walking a fine line. They are attempting to combat popular and governmental support for the death penalty while at the same time continuing to care for the families of the victims of horrible crimes. They are calling for justice for victims and their families but not vengeance. In doing so, they are taking their jobs as pastors and teachers seriously. It may be impossible to hold mercy and justice together, but the bishops are attempting to do just that — not for its own sake but because they believe God's purposes are to create a culture of life.
As the bishops also point out, people of good will can and do disagree about this issue. That's a fact of life and probably won't change anytime soon. The bishops aren't neutral, and they intend to persuade Catholics, Christians and Americans that the death penalty must be abolished. To this end, the bishops state, "We seek to help build a culture of life in which our nation will no longer try to teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill."
Like many of my columns, this short look at the death penalty does not do justice to the complexity of this issue. Rather, I'm giving an overview of one perspective on a social issue as informed by theology and faith. And it is far from unbiased.
Perhaps, though, we can agree on one thing: It's time to at least rethink why we utilize the death penalty. As the bishops teach, "No matter how heinous the crime, if society can protect itself without ending a human life, it should do so."
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Recently he was married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and reads his columns to see if they make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Kevin Considine
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From 1976 to June 2005 the U.S. government executed 962 men and 10 women. On average, about 30 people are executed each year, and since the 1970s over 120 people have been exonerated of their alleged crimes.
That last statistic is one that has given me pause. It's unconscionable that innocent people have been put on death row for crimes they didn't commit. And it has prompted me to rethink capital punishment in the United States.
Along the way I found out that I'm not alone in trying to rethink this issue. For the past 25 years the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been working to end the death penalty in the United States.
As recently as 2005 the Bishops' Conference reiterated their stance on this issue. In their document entitled "A Culture of Life and a Penalty of Death" they open by saying that the death penalty is "unnecessary and unjustified in our time and circumstances."
The bishops go on to give four broad reasons for their continuing opposition to the death penalty:
It violates the dignity of human life if used when not necessary to protect society
It diminishes the humanity of all of us since it is in our name
Its application is error-prone, fatally flawed, irreversible and susceptible to being applied more often because of human prejudice than justice
We have other ways to suitably punish such crimes and protect society
To me, the most pressing of these reasons is the third one. It is a fact that the death penalty is not an objective punishment. It is meted out as a sentence more often when the defendant is African-American, the defendant receives poor legal representation or there is some sort of prosecutorial misconduct.
For the above reasons the bishops declare: "We renew our common conviction that it is time for our nation to abandon the illusion that we can protect life by taking life. Ending the use of the death penalty would be one important step away from a culture of death toward building a culture of life."
Theologically, the bishops offer firm footing for their position. They argue: "We are created in God's image and redeemed by Jesus Christ, who himself was crucified. Those harmed by violence deserve both justice and compassion. Those who inflict such harm must be held accountable. Within the Catholic tradition, punishment has several purposes: redressing the disorder caused by the offense, i.e., just retribution; defending public order; deterring future wrongdoing; and promoting reform, repentance and conversion of those who commit evil acts."
And they observe: "Each of us is called to respect the life and dignity of every human being. Even when people deny the dignity of others, we must still recognize that their dignity is a gift from God and is not something that is earned or lost through their behavior. Respect for life applies to all, even the perpetrators of terrible acts. Punishment should be consistent with the demands of justice and with respect for human life and dignity."
They also make it an issue to debunk the reasoning of "eye for an eye," "tooth for a tooth." As the bishops point out, when these Scripture references are placed in their historical context, it becomes quite clear that they were more concerned with limiting the retribution extracted for crimes in society.
As you might guess, the bishops are walking a fine line. They are attempting to combat popular and governmental support for the death penalty while at the same time continuing to care for the families of the victims of horrible crimes. They are calling for justice for victims and their families but not vengeance. In doing so, they are taking their jobs as pastors and teachers seriously. It may be impossible to hold mercy and justice together, but the bishops are attempting to do just that — not for its own sake but because they believe God's purposes are to create a culture of life.
As the bishops also point out, people of good will can and do disagree about this issue. That's a fact of life and probably won't change anytime soon. The bishops aren't neutral, and they intend to persuade Catholics, Christians and Americans that the death penalty must be abolished. To this end, the bishops state, "We seek to help build a culture of life in which our nation will no longer try to teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill."
Like many of my columns, this short look at the death penalty does not do justice to the complexity of this issue. Rather, I'm giving an overview of one perspective on a social issue as informed by theology and faith. And it is far from unbiased.
Perhaps, though, we can agree on one thing: It's time to at least rethink why we utilize the death penalty. As the bishops teach, "No matter how heinous the crime, if society can protect itself without ending a human life, it should do so."
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Recently he was married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and reads his columns to see if they make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Kevin Considine
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