of the death penalty is further testimony to our conviction,-- that
God is indeed the Lord of life," the position from Catholic bishops and
most Christian leadership, was ignored by the State of Virginia
September 23.
Ignoring that statement reveals the wide divergence
between members of
Christian clergy and their followers on the matter of the death penalty.
Teresa
Lewis was executed September 23 in Virginia
in opposition to Christian leadership's pronouncements that capital
punishment is a violation of the laws of God and against the examples
set by Christ. But executions remain controversial among Catholic
practitioners, with one side protesting that the death penalty is
allowed for the government to provide controls to prevent serious crime
and the other siding with the Catholic bishops.
On the other
hand, Catholic bishops along with most Christian clergy in the United
States have gone on record against capital punishment. The Catholic
bishops point to four reasons against it. These reasons are those the
church uses to provide guidance to Catholics across the world, as they
have been affirmed by the Pope for decades.
The official positions
of most Christian organizations is opposition to the death penalty,
according to the Pew Forum in its study 2009.
Lewis
became the first woman in the State of Virginia executed in nearly a
century and the first woman executed in the United States in five
years. She was put to death by lethal injection for the contract
killing of her husband in spite of protestations from religious leaders,
thousands of ordinary citizens and even John Grisham, the famous
lawyer-turned-novelist who is known for his crime stories.
The
execution of Teresa Lewis was questioned by legal authorities, even as
it was protested by Christian leaders. Deborah
Denno,
a professor at Fordham Law School
and one of the nation's leading death penalty experts, said Lewis'
guilt had been established, but the death penalty was "disproportionate"
compared to the sentences her co-conspirators received.
"Her two male co-conspirators, who actually carried out the murders, got life sentences," Denno told the Daily News.
AOL News reported Lewis spent the last days of her life praying and singing hymns. 7300 letters of protest were received against her execution, including one from the European Union.
Do
these protestations against capital punishment by members of the clergy
and legal experts reflect the personal and political beliefs of most
Americans?
It turns out that there is great inconsistency in
relationship between Christian leadership principles and those who
profess adherence to those beliefs. Recent surveys indicate 65% of all
Americans believe in capital punishment, a dramatic difference from the
position of Christian leaders. The majority is greatest among white
Americans at 73% in a Gallup Survey done in 2008.
"Abolition sends a message that we can break the cycle of violence,
that we need not take life for life, that we can envisage more humane
and more hopeful and effective responses to the growth of violent
crime." This is another of the four reasons Catholic bishops oppose
capital punishment.
Does the clergy condone the action of the
murderer for whom the ultimate penalty of capital punishment is given?
The Catholic bishops declare "abolition of capital punishment is also a
manifestation of our belief in the unique worth and dignity of each
person from the moment of conception, a creature made in the image and
likeness of God. This belief, rooted in Scripture and consistently
expressed in the social teachings of the Church, applies to all people,
including those who have taken life. "
But what about the message
of Jesus? Is there a response from the church about the message in
relationship to capital punishment?
"We believe that abolition of
the death penalty is most consonant with the example of Jesus." This
declaration, the bishops say, reflects the heart of the matter. Capital
punishment is not in line with Christ's teachings about redemption and
forgiveness, the bishops believe.
On the matter of the
execution of Teresa Lewis, Daniel Bean, writes in the National Catholic
Register that
Catholic citizens should be outspoken against the imposition of the
death penalty, even as they speak out against abortion, despite the fact
the church treats these as separate issues. He quotes from the
catechism:
"2267 Assuming that the
guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined,
the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the
death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending
human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, nonlethal means are sufficient to defend and protect
people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such
means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the
common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human
person.
Today,
in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for
effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an
offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from
him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the
execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not
practically nonexistent."
Bean then quotes from
Lewis a statement she gave prior to her execution, “I just want the
governor to know that I am so sorry, deeply from my heart. And if I
could take it back, I would, in a minute ... I just wish I could take it
back. And I’m sorry for all the people that I’ve hurt in the process.”
He wonders whether this: "Whether she’s sincere or not is actually
irrelevant. Do any of us actually believe that killing this woman is the
state of Virginia’s only way of “effectively defending human lives
against the unjust aggressor”?
The concern about Catholic
believers and their lack of protest is expressed by Bean in relationship
to the catechism and the fact that the church has spoken out against
executions, specifically where there are questions with regards to the
ability of the state to punish its citizens more fairly by other means.
Bean's final question is this: " If Catholics don’t bring a Catholic
perspective to our secular world and speak up in defense of human life,
who will?"
In 1994 the Bishops made this same observation about
the responsibility of the church regarding capital punishment. "We have a
very consistent cornmitment as Church to defending the sanctity of
human life. We struggle mightily against abortion; we have a commitment
and concern for the poor; we deplore racial and sexual discrimination
and the self -destructive use of drugs. Our position against the use of
the death penalty falls into that continuum. We believe that an issue
such as 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."
Still the floodgates have been opened for
executions in the United States, despite religious leaders'
protestations, even as the majority of the public, believes the death
penalty should be upheld.
38 states allow the death penalty for
murder with 75% of the executions done by lethal
injection.
In
April 2008 by 7 to 2, the Supreme Court upheld Kentucky's method of
putting criminals to death by lethal injection. This cleared the way
for other states to resume executions, but the variety of position
statements from the separate judges reveal questions remain on this
serious issue.
