World Day Against the Death Penalty

Today, 10 October, is World Day Against the Death Penalty. Pope Francis posted this message on X: "The Death Penalty is always inadmissible, because it attacks the inviolability and dignity of the person. I appeal for its abolition in all countries of the world. We must not forget that a person can repent and change, even up until the very last moment of their life."

Seventy percent of the world's countries have abolished the death penalty in law and/or practice. The five countries who executed the most in the world in 2023 are, in order: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the US.

In 2024, the US experienced the 1600th execution in the United States since 1976. This year, five different states took the lives of five men. Among them was Willie Pye, a man with intellectual disability, executed by Georgia on March 20. But this year there was also the 200th exoneration. In the US, for every eight executions, one person is exonerated (wrongly convicted and later released). That is a one in eight failure rate, but the result is not just a statistic but the irreversible taking of a human life.

Today, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, Progressive National Baptist, Methodist, Jewish, Quaker, Evangelical Lutheran and other faith leaders came together for a morning of networking and engagement to build a coalition of faith leaders across Georgia to speak out against the death penalty.

Catholic Mobilizing Network, (CMN) the leading Catholic anti-death penalty advocacy organization in the United States, marked their 15th anniversary.

CMN director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, writes: "After 15 years mobilizing Catholics to end the death penalty, advance justice and begin healing in the United States, CMN has arrived at a critical juncture. Our assessment is that the United States is on a trajectory to end the death penalty. How soon is up to us.

"Our experience over the last 15 years confirms what we have always known - that faithful Catholics have the moral voice and mobilizing power to drive meaningful change in this country. Each time we act - as Catholics and in collaboration with all people of goodwill - we are moving one step closer to an end to capital punishment in the United States.

"Since CMN was founded in 2009, nine new states have abolished the death penalty. Today, 29 states have either formally outlawed capital punishment or paused executions by executive action. An even deeper look reveals that 36 out of the 50 US states have either abolished the death penalty or not carried out an execution for at least 10 years. Indeed, the trends toward abolition are moving in our favour.

"Each year, tens of thousands of Catholics work with CMN to contact their state decision-makers to oppose upcoming executions and to support anti-death penalty legislation.

In 2018, at the request of Pope Francis, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church and clarified that the death penalty is "inadmissible, because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person (2267)."

"CMN has amplified this clarion call of the Church. We equip ministry leaders with resources for education and opportunities to effectively advocate against the death penalty, and offer a vision of justice that is rooted in healing - rather than vengeance. We advocate for an approach to justice that is restorative rather than punitive-a way that upholds the dignity of each person, no matter the harm one has caused or suffered.

At both the state and federal level, you'll find us:

- Organizing prayer vigils, press events, webinars, and speaking tours
- Developing resources for parishes, dioceses, and other faith communities
- Connecting key players, like Church leaders and abolition movement organizers
- Amplifying Catholic abolition work in the media

For more information about the Catholic Mobilizing Network, see: www.catholicsmobilizing.org.

See also - World Coalition Against the Death Penalty: www.worldcoalition.org