Capital punishment Archives

U.S. Supreme Court death penalty decision could be victory for due process
- Catholic News Agency, Church in the US
- June 21, 2017
A case of a man sentenced to death in 1986 has made it to the Supreme Court, which decided that a defendant has a right to a mental health evaluation. The Court found precedent in the case and the decision could have several important implications for the justice system.
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Filipino bishops praise cross-country march against death penalty
- Catholic News Agency, Global Church
- May 11, 2017
Catholic bishops in the Philippines lauded a 21-day march aimed at criticizing the war on drugs issued by President Duterte which has already cost thousands of lives. Catholic leaders have been vocally opposed to the revival of a harsh death penalty in the country .
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Catholics heartened by stay on flurry of planned executions in Arkansas
- Catholic News Agency, Church in the US
- April 19, 2017
Catholics and Church leaders in the United States celebrated the decision by judges in Arkansas to halt the execution of eight inmates in 10 days. The state had planned the executions to take place before the sedative used in the lethal injections expired. It would have been only the third time eight inmates were executed in less than a month.
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Bishops reject death penalty for accused priest killer

Two Georgia bishops and one from Florida have appealed to drop the death penalty in the case of a man convicted of killing a 71-year-old priest, saying that “no human life loses it dignity” and noting the priest had specifically signed a request that death not be imposed should he be murdered.

Philippines bishops oppose bid for severe death penalty revival

Catholic bishops of the Philippines voiced strong objections to proposals intended to reinstate the death penalty in the country. “We urge the government to champion life for all!” said the president of the Bishops’ Conference, and added that there is an “unmistakable” global trend against the death penalty.

Death penalty was on the decline in America in 2016

The year 2016 marked a major decline in the number of executions and sentences to capital punishment in the United States, a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center says. Georgia had nine executions, Texas seven, Alabama two, and one each in Missouri and Florida, the report said.