Death penalty Archives - Page 2 of 34

‘We are better than this,’ deacon says before Johnson’s execution

Jan 16, 2021

The Supreme Court Jan. 14 cleared the path for the federal government to execute Corey Johnson after denying his two last-minute appeals.

By Carol Zimmermann

Lisa Montgomery put to death after Supreme Court reversal

Jan 13, 2021

After a flurry of court decisions, the Supreme Court reversed a pair of rulings from federal appeals courts that had put death-row inmate Lisa Montgomery’s execution on hold, and it denied two other last-minute requests to postpone the execution.

By Carol Zimmermann

Bishops seek end to death penalty at federal, state levels

Jan 13, 2021

Drive south about two hours on Indiana highway from the Diocese of Lafayette headquarters, and you’ll wind up at the Terre Haute federal prison – the site of 10 federal executions since the government resumed the practice in July.

By John Lavenburg

Bishops call for an end to the federal death penalty

Jan 12, 2021

A joint statement from two U.S. bishops who head different committees of the U.S. bishops called for an end to the federal use of the death penalty as “long past time.”

By Catholic News Service

Catholic leaders decry Trump’s 11th-hour spate of federal executions

Jan 9, 2021

To Sister Helen Prejean, the first stand a Catholic takes against the death penalty in the United States doesn’t need to be grand. In fact, she believes all it takes is a desire, and a pen, to start on the path towards change.

By John Lavenburg

Catholic advocates against death penalty urge clemency for woman on federal death row

Dec 31, 2020

In a Nov. 12 Facebook post, Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille and longtime death penalty opponent, said: “We must stop the execution of Lisa Montgomery. Lisa was psychotic — unable to act rationally — when she committed a terrible crime. She desperately needed psychiatric care and instead she got a death sentence. “

By Carol Zimmermann

Maryland Catholic Conference urges Trump to stop a federal execution

Dec 23, 2020

Eight Catholic bishops serving Maryland dioceses urged President Donald Trump Dec. 22 to stop the planned federal execution of Dustin Higgs, a Maryland man on death row in Indiana.

By Carol Zimmermann

Death penalty hits historic low in U.S. ‘despite federal execution spree,’ says report

Dec 17, 2020

A new report Dec. 16 by the Death Penalty Information Center said the use of capital punishment reached a historic low this year in the United States even with the return of federal executions by the Trump administration.

By Carol Zimmermann