Sisters of Mercy Northeast Community

Corporate Stand on the Abolition of the Death Penalty

As Sisters of Mercy of the Northeast Community, Associates and Companions:

We believe in the value of human life and are committed to a Gospel stance of non-violence.

We recognize the need to develop ways to address the roots of violence, and believe that the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime.

We understand that capital punishment is administered inequitably and
discriminates against people who are poor, uneducated, mentally ill and of different races.

We support the families of victims and the development of alternatives to
the death penalty.

Therefore,

We, the Sisters and Associates of Mercy of the Americas Northeast Community, oppose the death penalty.

Death Penalty Fact Sheet

The Gospel, Catholic Social Teaching and our Mercy documents call us to stand firmly and publicly against the death penalty.

Scripture

Matthew 5:38-42, Luke 6: 29-30, Matthew 7:1-5, James 2: 11, Exodus 20: 13, Deuteronomy 5:17

Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church #2267
"Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
"If however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.
"Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent." (#2267)
Pope John Paul II: The Gospel of Life. The use of capitol punishment should be "very rare, if not practically non-existent."

Pope John Paul II, in 1999 while speaking in the US called the death penalty "cruel and unnecessary" and affirmed that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil."

Sisters of Mercy

Constitutions #8 "We strive to witness to mercy when we reverence the dignity of each person,"

Fourth Institute Chapter "to deepen and assimilate more consciously the practice on non-violence as an integral aspect of the charism of mercy."

International and Civic Society

1. Capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime
States that have the death penalty have higher murder rates that those who do not. The average murder rate per 100,000 people in states with capital punishment is 5.3%, while it is only 2.8% in states that do not have the death penalty.

2. Race
About 80% of the murders victims in cases resulting in execution were white, even though nationally only 50% of murder victims generally are white.

3. Incorrect verdicts
Since 1973 over 120 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. In 2000, 8 were freed from death row and exonerated with evidence of their innocence, 2002, 9 exonerated and freed from death row, 2003, 12 exonerated and freed.

4. Juveniles executed
In 2005 the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for juveniles; 22 juvenile defendants (under the age of 18) have been executed since 1976.

5. Cost
The California death penalty system costs taxpayers $114 million per year beyond the cost of keeping convicts locked up for life. It costs more because in over 90% of the cases the state has to pay for the appeal. The US Department of Justice statistics show it costs approximately $500,000 to try, convict and incarcerate for life. It costs $3.8 million to try, convict, appeal and execute someone. It cost $14.3 million dollars to try, convict and execute Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City Bombings.

Northeast statistics:
Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island do not have the death penalty. Connecticut, New Hampshire and New York have the death penalty. In New York, the State Court of Appeals has declared the current statute to be unconstitutional (NY Constitution).
Since 1976 there has been 1 execution in the Northeast and that was in Connecticut in 2005. There are currently 9 inmates on death row, 8 in Connecticut and 1 in New York.

A few websites that may be of interest are listed below:

www.deathpenaltyinfo.org
www.americancatholic.org/News/DeathPenalty
http://www.usccb.org/deathpenalty/
http://www.prejean.org/
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If you have any questions, would like clarification or would like more information please contact anyone on the Northeast Justice Team.

Pat Combies, RSM
Dale Jarvis, RSM
Madonna Moran, RSM
Associate Cathy Toedt
Mary Alice Synkewecz, RSM
Associate Jean Markey-Duncan
Ruth Ravey, RSM
Associate Mary Ann Riffel
Kathleen Pritty, RSM