And she did receive the death penalty. He worked hard to get her execution changed to life without parole. Now Bill shares his story around the country in an effort to help others see the beauty of a Journey of Hope — From Violence to Healing.
I believe that I am a pro-life person. Life is precious. I want children to be born and to have the opportunity to live long and fruitful lives without hatred and prejudice. Children are born into dysfunctional families…they grow up with inadequate education and support…they are victims of violence…and if you are a child of color, you are more likely to live in a violent neighborhood, participate in the school to prison pipeline, and be given a death sentence if you commit murder.
My reasons for wanting to eliminate the death penalty revolve around the need to be consistent about my pro-life beliefs.
Some differentiate the innocent unborn child with the guilty criminal. But there are innocent people on death row. Over individuals have be exonerated since New methods of determining innocence or guilt continue to be developed. If you ask a Southern Baptist, he or she will likely tell you the Catholic Church is wrong. Christian's underlying position. Christian's words were "careless," and don't "reflect any Biblical In Genesis 9, God speaks to Noah after the flood.
When someone takes human life, they forfeit their own life. So, I asked, "Should a woman who's had an abortion forfeit her own life? Lockett deserved to die, he said, because the act of murder "was taken in wanton disregard of the life taken and given the nature of the crime, this individual has forfeited his right to live.
Don't get me wrong; pro-lifers could argue that pro-choice, anti-death penalty believers are inconsistent, too. How can you choose to end life, but adamantly oppose the death penalty?
Apparently, consistency is not America's strong suit. He expected his test results to show a consistent belief system in all kinds of premeditated death. In other words, if you believe in the sanctity of life, you would be opposed to euthanasia, the death penalty and abortion. If it were, these groups would support a slew of feminist proposals, from family planning to parental leave to generous social welfare benefits.
It is simply about misogyny and control. Making it harder for women to plan their pregnancies, and criminalizing ending them, means women have far less control over the rest of our lives: the ability to go to school, to work, to marry who we want or not marry at all , to walk down whatever path we choose. When abortion is outlawed, women suffer. We are forced to have children we cannot support. We are injured and sometimes killed by clandestine procedures.
We go to jail. But we cannot always rely on DNA evidence to demonstrate guilt or innocence because DNA evidence exists in only 10 percent of cases. Today a growing movement in the United States, led by Catholics, opposes the use of the death penalty. As a result, more states are restricting or abolishing its use, but many other states retain this penalty.
As Catholics, we believe and put our hope in a merciful and loving God. We are conscious of our own brokenness and need for redemption. Our Lord calls us to imitate him more perfectly by witnessing to the inherent dignity of every human being, including those whose actions have been despicable. Our faith and hope is in the mercy of God who says to us, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy Mt and "I desire mercy, not sacrifices" Mt As Christians we are called to oppose the culture of death by witnessing to something greater and more perfect: a gospel of life, hope and mercy.
Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, recently summed up the case against the death penalty in these words: "As children of God, we're better than this, and we need to start acting like it. We need to end the death penalty now.
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