U.S. Bishops have called on President Biden to commute the death sentences of all death row inmates in federal prisons. This call for mercy would remove the death penalty and replace it with life sentences. The Bishops have repeatedly called for the end of the federal death penalty since 1980.
Death Row Inmates
Currently, there are 40 men on death row in federal prisons. An article from the National Catholic Register speaks to the use of the death penalty:
“The federal death penalty has been applied relatively sparingly since being reinstated in 1988. Just 16 people have been put to death by the federal government — 13 during the first Trump administration — compared with nearly 1,600 by the states.”
Biden had campaigned on ending the death penalty, but that is a change in his policy. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has posted a webpage to contact President Biden, urging him to commute these sentences. The Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) has also called on Biden to commute these sentences. They are a pro-life advocacy group opposing the death sentence.
Why Commute the Sentences?
There are several reasons to commute these sentences:
- We are all God’s children, including these violent offenders. God gives us life, and only God can take it away. By killing anyone, even those sentenced to death, we are acting as God, no matter the reason. God asks us to trust Him to bring justice to the victims and their families. We won’t see that justice either in our lifetime or presumably after. We are still asked to trust Him.
- Proponents of the death penalty believe this is a deterrent, but that is up for debate. Amnesty International has reported that the death penalty is not a deterrent to preventing new crimes. A 2017 article reported that the murder rate in non-death penalty states was consistently lower than in states that did have the death penalty.
- There is a belief that the death penalty is “steeped in poor legal assistance and racial bias.” I would expect that there is some level of truth to this, but the fear of convicting one innocent person is reason enough to abolish the death penalty.
“There are six things the LORD hates, yes, seven* are an abomination to him; Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet that are quick to run to evil, The false witness who utters lies, and the one who sows discord among kindred.”
The death penalty is an emotional and controversial issue, but the call for Biden to pardon those on death row is appropriate from my perspective. If we are to counter the “culture of death” created by abortion, the death penalty, and euthanasia, commuting these sentences is a great start.
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Peace
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