Courtesy Photo Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden of the Archdiocese of Baltimore speaks during the statewide interfaith coalition to call for the repeal of Maryland's death penalty at First & Saint Stephen's United Church of Christ in Towson on Jan. 13. Courtesy photo by Catholic Review Staff/Owen Sweeney III

As part of the Interfaith Coalition to End the Death Penalty's advocacy campaign, preachers across the state will be join in a "Death Penalty Sabbath" effort Sunday, discussing the hope for repeal with their congregations, and in some cases, organizing letter-writing drives to state representatives.

Beth Reilly of Frederick, a lay member of the United Methodist Church, said Brookhill United Methodist Church pastor Conrad O. Link plans to encourage a letter-writing campaign this Sunday and Middletown United Methodist Church plans a similar effort Feb. 1.

Reilly said she's contacted numerous religious groups on behalf of the coalition, including other Methodist congregations, several Catholic and Presbyterian churches, Kol Ami (a reformed Jewish congregation), the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick, the Unity Church, the Frederick Friends Meeting House, Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ, Grace United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church, and All Saints Episcopal Church.

"I've been making calls to ministers, writing letters, and making it known that we need them to take the time to act on this issue," Reilly said. "It's such a critical period right now."

Reilly said momentum is building for the repeal based on the recent Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment findings and their recommendations, and the fact that the governor is on board.

"What I'm finding in my contact with church leaders in Frederick is that there is incredible support for repealing the death penalty," she said. "But we can't sit by quietly and expect it to happen -- especially, if you live in Frederick. We need a critical vote from Sen. Alex Mooney."

Mooney, a member of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Frederick and a member of the Judicial Proceedings Committee where previous repeal bills have failed, has not supported the death penalty repeal effort in the past. Reached by phone earlier this week, he indicated he has not changed his position, adding, however, that he will listen to testimony again this year "with an open mind."

"A number of factors weigh into my decision, the view of my constituents, history, the facts, and religion, obviously -- my faith informs my conscience as well," Mooney said.

The coalition

The dozens of religious leaders in the statewide interfaith coalition are urging lawmakers to follow the recent recommendations of the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment, which called for an end to the death penalty.

"What's unique is this is the strongest group of religious leaders from different faith communities -- Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim -- that have come together from any time before," said the Rev. John Deckenback, of Frederick. Deckenback serves as Conference Minister of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ, and is one of the signatories of the letter sent to the General Assembly and the governor's office.

Deckenback said his inspiration for working toward the repeal came from a meeting with former United Church of Christ pastor the Rev. Byron Eschelman, who wrote "Death Row Chaplain" in 1962 based on his experience working with inmates at San Quentin.

"He had a conversion experience," Deckenback said. "He witnessed the horror of the death penalty and the state taking a life. He spoke out, with risk to his own career, and called it one of the greatest shortcomings of the judicial system and a scar on the landscape."

Tim Hanavan, executive director of the Central Maryland Ecumenical Council and a member of the Interfaith Coalition to End the Death Penalty, said religious leaders across the state came together over the summer and early fall as they were asked to give testimony to the commission.

He said Baltimore Delegate Samuel Rosenberg (D) and Baltimore state Sen. Lisa Gladden (D) are expected to bring repeal legislation this session.

Religious leaders have approached Mooney, a Republican, in the past about repealing the death penalty, but to no avail thus far, Hanavan said.

At a press conference in Towson last week, clergy representing nearly 3 million members of their denominations, cited the commission's findings that the state's death penalty system is unfair, costly and legally burdensome.

Shared beliefs

Religious leaders said their faith traditions share beliefs that preclude capital punishment.

"Common to all of our faiths is the belief in the sanctity of life and forgiveness," the coalition's letter states. "We believe that no one is beyond redemption; and, that we are called to restore people to wholeness in society. Even for one who has murdered -- never should we or our government on our behalf deny the prospect of redemption."

Signatories of the letter included Deckenback and the Most Reverend Edwin F. O'Brien, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, as well as state and regional leaders from the Presbytery of Baltimore, the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, the Baltimore Board of Rabbis, the Delaware/Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Muslim Cultural Community Center of Baltimore.

Hanavan said there are a number of reasons why such a diverse coalition has come together and that for most clergy it's a moral issue.

"For Christians, there is the collective belief held that calls for making sure that redemption is always available to each person," he said. "Jesus also said that no person has the right to take a life except God.

"For African-American Muslims, particularly, they expressed theirs is a justice issue, the racial disparity of who ends up on death row -- that the sentences, as has been shown, are not applied evenly and justly.

"Finally, I think, there is no perfect system and mistakes are made, as has been demonstrated. And the mistake of putting an innocent person to death is unacceptable."