The State of Oklahoma has paused its executions until May 2023. This is hopeful news as it indicates that the state is not only looking over its method of execution but also allowing more time for appeals to be filed and reviewed. Members of the state legislature who still support the death penalty have expressed concern over the possibility of executing innocent persons. This is a step forward.
Topics: Catholic social teaching, death penalty, forgiveness, Dignity and the Death Penalty
Richard Stephen Fairchild (November 17, 1959 – November 17, 2022)
Topics: justice, Catholic social teaching, death penalty, Dignity and the Death Penalty, mental incompetence, mental health
Benjamin Robert Cole, Sr.
Topics: justice, mercy, Catholic social teaching, death penalty, Dignity and the Death Penalty, mental incompetence
So many injustices exist in our world that it challenges us to notice all of them. Some get overlooked or forgotten. Not so the dignity-of-life issue that has been raised by the State of Oklahoma and is getting national attention. Following a seven-year moratorium on the death penalty, the state, with the August 25 execution of James Coddintgon, has begun its intent to execute 25 of its 43 prisoners on death row between August 25, 2022 and December 24, 2024. Why? Because the state is “catching up” with executions delayed by the moratorium resulting from botched lethal injections administered in 2015.
Topics: justice, death penalty, dignity of each person