DEATH PENALTY
Please visit the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Campaign to End
the Use of the Death Penalty at: http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/deathpenalty/
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 definitively
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 non-existent. Catechism of the
Catholic Church, no. 22567.
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In Tennessee of the 52 African Americans sentenced to death since 1977, 15 (29%) had been condemned by all-white juries. 1 in 4 blacks condemned by all-white juries. The Tennessean, 27 July 2001.
Since 1975, more than 115 innocent people have been released from death row. Some of these innocent men and women were exonerated by the miracle of DNA technology.
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Of the 104 prisoners on Death Row in Tennessee, 41 are black, 58 are white, 1 is Latino, 2 are Native American, and 2 are Asian.
The Catholic Public Policy Commission of Tennessee acknowledges that
society has a right and duty to defend itself against violent crime
and a duty to reach out to victims of crime. Yet our nation's
increasing reliance on the death penalty is extremely troubling.
Respect for human life must even include respect for the lives of
those who have taken the lives of others. It has become clear, as
Pope John Paul II has taught, that inflicting the penalty of death
is cruel and unnecessary. The antidote to violence is not more
violence.
As a part of our pro-life commitment, we encourage solutions to
violent crime that reflect the dignity of the human person, urging
our nation to abandon the use of capital punishment. Respect for
human life and dignity is the necessary first step in building a
civilization of life and love.
The Catholic Public Policy Commission urges the Tennessee
Legislature to support a moratorium on capital punishment.
Legislation regarding the Death Penalty in Tennessee:
