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The Faith Perspective on Capital Punishment
Human dignity is not something we earn by our good behavior; it is something we have as children of God. We believe that because we are all created by God, none of us is the sum total of the worst act we have ever committed….As a people of faith, we believe that grace can transform even the most hardened and cruel human beings.”
The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy works with a significant portion of the Faith Community in the Commonwealth including 21 faith groups (Roman Catholic, Jewish, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, Friends, Baptist, Brethren, United Church of Christ, and United Methodist), several faith-based organizations (three Jewish federations, two Islamic organizations, the Virginia Council of Churches, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Voices for Virginia’s Children, CARITAS, and others), engaged congregations, and individuals. We are united in our call for redemption and restorative justice. a moratorium on the death penalty in Virginia. By Convention resolutions, by statements from religious leaders and by actions of many local congregations across the Commonwealth this issue has been debated.
Fundamental morality is challenged when a person takes another’s life; be it murderer or legal entity. But given the fact that Virginia does execute people, it is crucial in this ultimate of penalties that it be carried out with as close to infallibility as possible. In recent days, significant questions have been raised as to its fairness in Virginia.
Reasons for opposing the death penalty:
1. Belief in the worth of human life and the dignity of human personality as gifts from God.
2. A preference for rehabilitation rather than retribution in the treatment of offenders – even in cases of life-without-parole.
3. Reluctance to assume the responsibility of arbitrarily terminating the life of a fellow-being solely because there has been a transgression of law.
4. Serious question whether the death penalty serves as a deterrent to crime.
5. The conviction that institutionalized disregard for the sanctity of human life contributes to the brutalization of society.
6. The possibility of errors in judgment and the irreversibility of the penalty which makes impossible any restitution to one who has been wrongfully executed.
7. Evidence that economically poor defendants, particularly members of racial minorities, are more likely to be executed than others because they cannot afford exhaustive legal defenses.
8. The belief that not only the severity of the penalty but also its increasing frequency and the ordinarily long delay between sentence and execution subject the condemned person to cruel, unnecessary and unusual punishment.
9. The belief that the protection of society is served as well by measures of restraint and rehabilitation, and that society may actually benefit from the contribution of the rehabilitated offender.
10. Our commitment to seek the redemption and reconciliation of the wrong-doer, which are frustrated by his or her execution.
Faith groups that have passed moratorium resolutions:
Catholic Diocese of Richmond (January, 1998)
Manassas Church of the Brethren (Nov. 22, 1998)
Spirituality of the Feminine in Action, Falls Church (April 5, 1999)
Little Flower Catholic Worker, Goochland (April 12, 1999)
Pax Christi Richmond (May 7, 1999)
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Triangle, VA (October 18, 1999)
Quaker Lake Friends Meeting, Keysville (September 29, 1999)
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (Feb. 5, 2000)
Methodist Federation for Social Action, Virginia chapter (Feb. 12, 2000)
Virginia Council of Churches (Feb. 16, 2000)
St. Jude Catholic Church, Christiansburg (February 24, 2000)
Catholic High School, Virginia Beach (March 10,2000)
St. Pius X Catholic Church, Norfolk (March 25, 2000)
Maury River Friends Meeting, Lexington, VA (March 26, 2000)
Rev. Pat Robertson (April 7, 2000)
Tidewater Sowers of Justice (April 14, 2000)
Daughters of Wisdom, Southern region (April 14, 2000)
St. Jerome Catholic Church, Newport News, VA (May, 2000)
Roanoke Quaker Friends Meeting (May, 2000)
First Unitarian Church of Richmond (June 4, 2000)
Charlottesville Quaker Friends Meeting (June 4, 2000)
Voices that Challenge- Catholic High School, Virginia Beach (Spring 2000)
Virginia People of Faith for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Herndon Quaker Friends Meeting (May 21, 2000)
Valley Quaker Friends Meeting, Harrisonburg area (June 11, 2000)
United Methodist Church of Virginia (June 13, 2000)
Richmond Quaker Friends Meeting (September 1, 2000)
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Richmond (September 19, 2000)
Virginia Beach Quaker Friends Meeting (October 8, 2000)
Church of the Incarnation, Charlottesville (October 31, 2000)
Goose Creek Quaker Friends Meeting, Lincoln, VA (November 5, 2000)
Virlina District Conference, Church of the Brethren (November 11, 2000)
Church of the Sacred Heart, Pastoral council, Petersburg (November 14, 2000)
Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Chesapeake (November 17, 2000)
Church of the Good Shepherd, Smithfield (December 11, 2000)
Alexandria Quaker Friends Meeting (January 7, 2001)
Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia (February, 2001)
St. Anthony's of Padua Catholic Church, Falls Church (February 8, 2001)
Alliance of Baptists (February 23, 2001)
St. Mary Mother of God Catholic Church, Wytheville (April 24, 2001)
Universal Unitarians of Waynesboro (June 3, 2001)
Virginia Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (June 9, 2001)
St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Virginia Beach (September 11, 2001)
Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Norfolk (November 29, 2001)
Langley Hill Quaker Friends Meeting, McLean (December 16, 2001)
Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Norfolk (December 18, 2001)
Star of the Sea Parish, Virginia Beach (March 2, 2002)
Indigent Defense
Virginia’s indigent system fails to adequately protect the rights of the poor who are accused of crimes, and causes some individuals to be found guilty of crimes they did not commit.
VA ranks 50th in the nation for compensation for court-appointed attorneys.
There is no statewide oversight of assigned counsel and no enforceable standards
The flawed system creates an incentive for lawyers to encourage early guilty please; and lawyers are unable and/or unwilling to do thorough investigation.
Reformation of Virginia’s indigent defense system must be included in the overall strategy to abolish the death penalty or implement a moratorium.
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