Louisville, Ky., Sep 11, 2010 / 05:40 am
The Holy Father along with four local bishops asked the state of Kentucky to reconsider the planned execution of an inmate, given evidence that the condemned man may be mentally disabled.
According to the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, Pope Benedict XVI and four Kentucky bishops asked Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday to halt the death sentence of 53-year-old Gregory L. Wilson who is set to be executed Sept. 16.
Wilson was sentenced to death 22 years ago for kidnapping, raping and murdering 36-year-old Deborah Pooley in 1987. A co-defendant in the case, Brenda Humphrey, is serving life in prison.
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville gave Gov. Beshear a letter on Sept. 9 written for the Pope by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the papal nuncio to the United States.
“I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty,” the Pope said in the letter, “which is both cruel and unnecessary.”