(En Español) We, the Catholic bishops of California, strongly support Proposition 34, the Death Penalty Repeal Initiative, which will be on the November ballot.  California voters have the opportunity to replace death with life by making a change in the law replacing the death penalty with a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.  

California originally instituted the death penalty for capital crimes in 1872.  It remained the practice for 100 years, until the California Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1972.  Five years later the Legislature reinstated capital punishment—a decision affirmed by California voters in 1978.  Now is the time for voters to revisit that decision.

In 2005, the U.S. Catholic bishops, in their statement, A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death, outlined our public policy objections to the use of capital punishment:

•    The original intent of the death penalty was the protection of society from those who had killed a fellow human being.  However, in modern times the state can incarcerate those convicted of a capital crime for the rest of their lives—with no chance they will ever rejoin society.
•    The application of the penalty of death can be irreversibly wrong—as has been demonstrated by many condemned individuals who were later exonerated with DNA testing.

We Catholic bishops advocate for Proposition 34 for more than public policy reasons.

As teachers of the Catholic faith, we consistently proclaim the intrinsic worth and the God-given dignity of all human life, whether innocent or guilty.  We are all created in God’s image.  As ministers to the victims of crime, we recognize the profound anguish of those who have lost a loved one to violence. We offer them our prayers and the hope of a fuller sense of justice. Nothing can undo the terrifying memories of violence that have been inflicted, not even taking the life of the convicted killer.  Justice demands that those who have committed these worst crimes against us should be punished and society should be protected.  A restorative justice should also provide the opportunity for repentance and reconciliation.  

The Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) has announced a new publication presenting the Catholic Church’s teaching on the death penalty and restorative justice. Entitled Renewing a Culture of Life: The Death Penalty, Restorative Justice, and Catholic Social Teaching,  This booklet was produced by CMN in close collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Peace, Justice & Human Development. Its purposes are to incorporate recent papal statements on the issue of the death penalty, to record the gains that have been made toward the goal of ending capital punishment in the United States, and to provide data related to this progress. This booklet aspires to fully embrace the commitment to the sanctity of human life that is central to Catholic teaching.

A sample copy of the English text of the booklet is available here.

A sample copy of the text in Spanish is available here.

Copies of the booklet in English and Spanish can be ordered by completing this order form.

(Las copias del folleto en ingles o en español se pueden comprar utilizando este formulario de pedido.)

SAN ANTONIO (October 29, 2012) –The Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL), a national organization of Hispanic business and professional people with chapters in Los Angeles and Orange County, today publicly endorsed Proposition 34--the Death Penalty Repeal Initiative. “With this endorsement,” stated CALL president and CEO Robert Aguirre, “CALL issues an urgent appeal to all Californians of good will to lead the growing number of states moving toward a restorative justice model that helps transform a culture of death into a culture of life.” The organization urges all California voters to vote “Yes” to the proposition which will appear on the November 6, 2012 ballot as “Death Penalty. Initiative Statute.” If passed, Proposition 34 will replace the death penalty in California with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Reprinted with permission from California People of Faith.

(En Español)

Rev. Michael Carson, Pastor of Queen of Apostles Church in the Diocese of San Jose and member of the State Board of California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty, recently interviewed Jeanne Woodford, executive director of Death Penalty Focus (DPF). DPF is the largest organization working to abolish the death penalty in California.

Woodford previously served as the Undersecretary and Director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Warden of San Quentin State Prison, where she oversaw four executions. Her journey from one responsible for executions at San Quentin State Prison to running one of the largest death penalty abolition organizations in the Country is a remarkable one. Recently I had a chance to talk to her about this issue and about her work to end the death penalty in California.

Q. In what ways has your Roman Catholic faith background influenced you on the stance you have taken on the death penalty?

A. My Roman Catholic upbringing had great influence on my thinking about the death penalty. I was taught to have respect for God’s creation.

by Bishop Cirilo Flores, coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. Reposted from U.T. San Diego.

(En Español) This year, in the Easter season, San Diego reels from two recent murders – a young Iraqi mother of five and a 14-year-old boy visiting friends with his brother. Our community comes together in grief and to comfort the families who have lost loved ones. We recognize their profound pain.

During this difficult period, Easter’s promise of rebirth can seem like an illusion. The cycle of violence seems endless, with justice an impossible ideal. Some have even called for the death penalty for those responsible for these crimes.

So it is fitting that San Diegans should pause and think deeply about executions as many of us are celebrating new life. After all, Easter reminds us that before the Resurrection, an innocent man, Jesus of Nazareth, was executed by his government more than 2,000 years ago.

The following, prepared by Andrew Rivas, Director of the Office of the Vicar for Clergy in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, are some reflections on the death penalty and its history that might be useful in talks, homilies and presentations:

Since 1980 the Roman Catholic Bishops of the United States have called for an end to the use of the death penalty in our country. Because of their loving and persistent pastoral guidance on this important life issue, states such as New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Illinois have abolished its practice. In April of 2012, Connecticut abolished its practice for any future crimes bringing the total to 17 states that have removed capital punishment from local statutes. Other states such as Nebraska, Kansas and California are poised to take the final step away from fighting violence with violence. Our Bishops understand that such a social strategy does not achieve a common good, nor does it allow us to foster a respect of life that moves beyond vengeance.

The California Catholic Conference issued this statement in September 2010, just days before a subsequent execution that was later cancelled.

Most Reverend Gerald Wilkerson, Auxiliary Bishop for the San Fernando Pastoral Region of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and President of the California Catholic Conference, released the following statement today expressing strong support for an end to the use of the death penalty in California and asking for clemency for any individual scheduled for execution.

The California Catholic Conference strongly supports an end to the use of the death penalty and affirms the 2005 statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death, which launched the U.S. Bishops Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty.