Attorneys for a group of death row inmates in South Carolina argued before the state’s Supreme Court Feb. 6 that the use of the electric chair and firing squad for executions violates the state constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
Catholic leaders spoke out against Alabama’s Jan. 25 execution of death row inmate Kenneth Smith by nitrogen gas, which was the first time this method was used in the United States.
The Supreme Court Jan. 24 rejected an appeal by death-row inmate Kenneth Smith, whose planned execution by the state of Alabama — the first known execution by nitrogen gas — was openly decried by more than 100 Alabama faith leaders just days earlier.
A Catholic advocate against the death penalty was encouraged by an annual report, released Dec. 1, that shows that 29 states either abolished the death penalty or paused executions this past year.
On World Day Against the Death Penalty Oct. 10, groups will be gathering in the U.S. to both pray for and discuss ending the nation’s use of the death penalty.
Democratic lawmakers announced a bill July 13, supported by dozens of Catholic groups, to end the federal death penalty.
In a brief order issued May 5, the Supreme Court blocked Oklahoma’s upcoming execution of death row inmate Richard Glossip scheduled for May 18.
Some Catholic governors are embracing the use of capital punishment as part of their political platforms despite the Catholic Church’s opposition to the practice. Another Catholic governor in a southern state recently called for an end to the practice.
An Oklahoma court has denied the request for a new trial for death row inmate Richard Glossip, even though the state’s attorney general said he had concerns about some of the testimony and evidence in the case.
Catholic organizations have called a new Florida law that ends the unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing “stunning” and a “thinly veiled attack on human life,” while the state’s governor — a potential 2024 presidential contender — argues the law allows proper justice to be served.
