Tallahassee, Fla., Aug 24, 2011 / 04:19 am
The Catholic bishops of Florida have asked Gov. Rick Scott to stay the execution of Manuel Valle, who was convicted in the 1978 shooting murder of a police officer. “True peace can only be achieved by forgiveness,” they said. “Governor, we ask you to stop state sanctioned killing.”
“Killing someone because they killed diminishes respect for life and promotes a culture of violence and vengeance,” the bishops said in an Aug. 3 letter. “We affirm the right and duty of the State to assure public safety and punish the guilty by incarceration, which allows the inmate an opportunity for reflection on their offenses and sorrow for the pain they have caused others.”
Valle, now 61, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Sept. 1 for fatally shooting Coral Gables police officer Louis Pena.
His execution had been scheduled for Aug. 2 but was postponed for a court hearing on the efficacy of a drug used in the execution procedure, the Miami Herald reports.