Death Penalty
The Latest
Florida bishops: Serial killer's execution is 'unnecessary'
The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops is pleading for Gov. Ron DeSantis to stop the execution of Gary Ray Bowles,... Read more
Bishops lament return of federal executions
Catholic leaders have condemned the federal government’s announcement last week that it will resume of executions after an almost two... Read more
After nearly 20 years, federal government will resume executions
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will resume executions after an almost two-decade lapse, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced... Read more
Florida Catholic Conference asks governor to halt execution of serial killer
The Catholic bishops of Florida are calling on the state’s governor to spare the life of Bobby Joe Long, a... Read more
Bid to end death penalty in Louisiana fails
Senate Bill 112 would have added a question to the next state-wide ballot proposing a constitutional amendment to abolish the... Read more
After Supreme Court ruling, Texas bans all chaplains from execution rooms
The state of Texas has banned all prison chaplains from its execution chamber, following a Supreme Court decision that halted... Read more
Colorado Catholic Conference supports bill to repeal death penalty
As a measure to repeal Colorado’s death penalty passed a Senate committee this week, the Colorado Catholic Conference has expressed... Read more
Bishop objects to death sentence for Filipino woman in Saudi Arabia
A bishop in the Philippines is speaking out against the death penalty of a Filipino woman who has been condemned... Read more
Supreme Court overturns death penalty for man with intellectual disability
In a ruling released Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the death penalty sentence of a Texas inmate whom... Read more
Bishops ask Supreme Court to hear case on racism in death sentencing
Three U.S. bishops have called on the Supreme Court to take up the case of a death row inmate in... Read more
South Korean bishops call for an end to the death penalty
The South Korean bishops’ conference has called for an end to the death penalty, and asked the nation’s Constitutional Court... Read more
Muslim denied presence of imam at his execution in Alabama
A Muslim man convicted of murder has been executed in Alabama without his imam present, despite the man’s requests to... Read more
Washington state bishops support repeal of death penalty
The Catholic bishops of Washington state are expressing support for a senate bill that would repeal the death penalty. Read more
Pope Francis: Death penalty a ‘legalistic’ value, not a Christian one
The death penalty is always a rejection of the Gospel and of human dignity, and therefore must be rejected by... Read more
Hours before execution, Tennessee governor rejects killer’s plea for mercy
Hours before David Miller is scheduled to be executed in Tennessee’s electric chair, the state’s governor has rejected Miller’s request... Read more
Catholic judge defends death penalty sentence on theological grounds
A Catholic judge in Ohio who recently sentenced a man to death defended his decision on both legal and theological... Read more
With inmate's fate unclear, Florida bishops pray to end death penalty
The Catholic bishops of Florida have asked for continued prayers for an end to the death penalty following the stay... Read more
Tennessee executes first prisoner since 2009, despite plea by bishops
Tennessee carried out its first execution in nearly a decade on Thursday evening. Governor Bill Haslam allowed the lethal injection... Read more
Pope Francis and the death penalty: a change in doctrine or circumstances?
Catholic theologians have weighed in on changes Pope Francis has made to the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s teaching on... Read more
Vatican changes Catechism teaching on death penalty, calls it ‘inadmissible’
Thursday the Vatican changed the Catechism’s teaching on the permissibility of the death penalty, which the Church has taught is... Read more
