Death Penalty
The Latest
Virginia governor signs death penalty repeal
Gov. Ralph Northam (D-Va.) signed a bill Wednesday ending the death penalty in Virginia, making the commonwealth the 23rd state... Read more
Boston Archdiocese calls for life without parole for Boston bomber, after Supreme Court agrees to consider death penalty
As the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Archdiocese... Read more
Virginia legislature votes to abolish the death penalty
Virginia is expected to become the first southern state to abolish the death penalty, after its general assembly voted on... Read more
Supreme Court rules that Alabama can’t deny death row inmate a chaplain
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused an appeal by the state of Alabama to execute a man without a chaplain... Read more
Supreme Court weighing Alabama ban on clergy at executions
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the case of an Alabama death row inmate who has asked to have a... Read more
Virginia bishops approve state’s move to abolish the death penalty
Virginia's two Catholic bishops welcomed the state legislature’s votes to abolish the death penalty this week. Read more
Members of Congress push for end to the federal death penalty
Dozens of members of Congress are urging the Attorney General-designate to stop use of the federal death penalty. Read more
Supreme Court rules favorably toward inmate requesting priest at execution
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled favorably toward a Catholic death row inmate requesting the presence of a priest at... Read more
US executes Lisa Montgomery despite concerns over mental illness
Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, was executed early Wednesday morning, despite her attorneys’ arguments that her... Read more
Federal execution of Lisa Montgomery stayed
A district court judge has stayed the execution of Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, on the... Read more
Incoming USCCB doctrine chair: Death penalty is part of ‘throwaway culture’
In an online panel Friday, the incoming chair of the U.S. bishops’ doctrine committee discussed the Church’s opposition to the... Read more
Ohio governor: Lethal injection impermissible for executions
The use of lethal injections will no longer be allowed for executions in the state of Ohio, and an alternative... Read more
End executions for Advent, Catholic bishops tell Trump
Leading U.S. bishops are imploring the Trump administration to stop scheduled federal executions during the season of Advent. Read more
US bishops to Trump: 'Enough. Stop these executions'
The Catholic bishops of the United States on Tuesday implored President Donald Trump to halt two federal executions set to... Read more
His own father murdered, Catholic archbishop speaks against death penalty
The Archbishop of Kansas City is calling for an end to the death penalty. Read more
USCCB to Trump administration: 'Stop these executions!'
The U.S. bishops’ conference on Thursday criticized the federal government for its continued use of the death penalty, which the... Read more
The Biden Platform: What Catholics should know
Joe Biden was officially nominated as the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential candidate on Tuesday evening. With the formalities over, what... Read more
Catholics pray for Navajo man scheduled for federal execution
Catholics are speaking out on behalf of a Native American man on federal death row, who is set to be... Read more
Boston archdiocese pushes back after Trump says Boston bomber ‘deserves death’
After President Donald Trump said Sunday that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, perpetrator of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, should be put to... Read more
Catholic leaders reject Duterte’s call to revive death penalty in Philippines
Catholic leaders in the Philippines have spoken out against President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to reinstate the death penalty for illegal... Read more
