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Gainesville, FL ­ Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) applauds the new statement issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to the church’s clergy and 65 million faithful nationwide.

At the USCCB’s semi-annual gathering that began Monday in Washington, D.C., nearly 300 bishops approved a new statement opposing the death penalty, noting, “It's application is deeply flawed...”

The renewed recognition by the bishops of the death penalty’s many flaws reflects a growing trend away from capital punishment across the country. On Sunday, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics released its yearly report showing that death sentences and executions are down for the fourth consecutive year. Last week, the editorial board of the largest newspaper in Alabama, the Birmingham News, announced a reversal of its long-time support for the death penalty, noting that a “culture of life” ethic was inconsistent with the death penalty’s many flaws­particularly the risk of executing the innocent.

“As more Floridians learn how broken our death penalty really is, they are demanding greater scrutiny and a halt to executions while these problems are looked at,” said FADP Director Abe Bonowitz. “The bishops’ statement is a clear call, not only to Catholics but to the national and state governments, to enact an immediate 'time-out on executions' and to re-examine the use of capital punishment.”

Not since 1980 has the USCCB issued a national statement on the death penalty. This week’s message calls attention to the conference’s national "Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty,” launched last March at a press conference attended by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, murder victims’ surviving loved ones, and Kirk Bloodsworth, one of more than 121 death row inmates who were exonerated in recent years, most after serving years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

While the late Pope John Paul, II and U.S. Catholic bishops have called for an end to capital punishment for 25 years, bishops promise their vigorous new campaign will involve every branch of the church, from the pulpit to schools and social justice agencies in its activities, including lobbying of state legislators and Congress and filing friend-of-the-court briefs in death penalty cases.

Research shows support for the death penalty declining dramatically among Catholics. According to a recent Zogby poll, Catholic support for capital punishment fell from a high of 68% in 2001 to 48% in November 2004.

"It's a matter of justice," said Cardinal McCarrick, who is former chairman of the bishops' Domestic Policy Committee, which developed the new campaign, "We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing. We cannot defend life by taking life."

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SENT BY:

Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP)
800-973-6548 www.fadp.org
PMB 335, 2603 NW 13th St (AKA Dr. MLK Jr. Hwy), Gainesville, FL 32609

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty works for restorative justice in the form of effective alternatives to the death penalty. It does so by

# supporting and coordinating the work of organizations and individuals
# educating and energizing the general public and state legislators
# supporting the many persons affected by capital crime and punishment
# advocating specific legislative improvements