Texas executed the 600th person in death row, Edward Busy. Texas now has its 4th execution of the year in Texas and United States executed 12 persons this year. There are still 4 more upcoming executions in Texas for 3 Black men and 1 Hispanic. There are 12 pending executions for the year for those working for justice to pray and take actions:
May 20 AZ Leroy McGill
May 20 TN Tony Carters
May 21 FL Richard Knight
Jun 2 FL Andrew Richard Lukehart
Jun 11 AL Jeffrey Lee
Aug 13 TN Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines
Sep 16 TX Le James Normal
Sep 23 TX Ramey Ker’sean Olajuwa
Sep 30 TN Christa Pike
Oct 7 TX Jamaal Howard
Nov 12 TX John Rubio
Dec 3 TN Gary Wayne Sutton
Death Penalty is not something to be proud of, but this is something that we continue to struggle with. We are still in the hate system. There are 27 states, the federal government, and the U.S. military who still use death penalty while 23 states and Washington, D.C. have abolished the death penalty. There are 3 states namely California, Oregon and Pennsylvania who are on moratorium.
The advocates for justice and peace continue to say that our justice system still in need reform. There is a better way to give justice to people who died in the hands of another human being. There is no healing in the use of hatred. Killing another person only proves the hunger for violence and revenge, which is the tooth for a tooth concept of penalty system. The punitive system is not only violent but an unhealthy way of lifestyle. It has been documented that the people who works for this punitive system are reaping the horrors of guilt, and the systemic sin. In reality, people are forced to be part of this capital system at the expense of the taxpayers money. The whole nation is part of this broken system. We do not value people. We treat people as disposable. We dehumanize ourselves that people deserve to die when they killed someone. We value one more important than the other. We see people who do not satisfy certain criteria as less worthy of living. We dismiss love on people. We see killing another human being as justice. I use the word since the death penalty is a system that involves everyone. It is a systemic injustice, an evil that we are still struggling to remove from our practices.
Being in the throw away system as United States of America, where people buy and throw away things easily, everything can be replaceable or simply disposable. When we say disposable, we do not need those things and therefore can be thrown in the trash. When things are broken, people do not regard things as fixable or worthy of keeping. This is evident in our lifestyle having disposable plates, utensils, cups, glasses, and serving dishes. Most people do not just throw the consumables but people can also throw away appliances like televisions, microwave, refrigerators, smart phones and other things you can find in shopping malls and grocery stores. We throw things away and buy a new one. We throw away things because we do not see things as valuable.
Sadly, the justice system in United States puts people, innocent of crime or not in death row. There were people in death who have been proven to be innocent and yet have been executed. There will still be people who will get executed by mistake because as humans as we are, everyone can commit mistakes. The lives of the people on death row are seen as having no value and therefore seen as worthy of having life taken away. We do not see the worth of keeping people, convicted of the worst mistake of their life, alive. In return, more people have to suffer with the trials, appeals in the process, the executions and the post-executions. It is not only the people in death row who suffer but the all people connected in this justice system, but more trauma for those directly working in the system. The people who are in the corrections, the medical professionals, executioner, and those in between these are human beings like the rest of us who had to bear the pain.
Life is sacred from womb to tomb. There is nothing precious in this world than life. We cannot recreate any single human being. Everyone is uniquely love by God who form us in our mother's womb. Life is given by God and only God can take our life (Job 1:21, Acts 17:25-28). And for Catholics, we have a moral obligation to protect life. By the virtue of the Catholic faith and beliefs, every Catholic or Christians in particular will know that God came into this world not to judge but to redeem us (John 3:17) and Jesus Christ came for the lost (Luke 19:10). God chose to be poor. He was born in the manger, where the animals are and not in the palace. Mary, Joseph and Jesus Christ in Mary's womb were rejected not once but several times which speaks to humanity's spiritual poverty. We do not have space for strangers. We do not have extra space to love. We disregard the voiceless or the people who are "low-class" citizens, the migrants, and immigrants. The system has high-regard for people with nice dresses, good jobs, educated, in position or we fear people in power and those who have control over us. God, however, wants to conquer our hearts by his humility and mercy. The justice of God is mercy and not humiliation. The justice of the people in United States putting people for execution is pride, power, and fear. Even Jesus Christ had to die as an outcast where people saw him as violating the law and was punished to die on the cross among the two men guilty of crime. Jesus Christ before his last breath has promised eternal life to Dimas. "Today you will be with me in paradise." (Lk 23:42-43). The Incarnate Word, the Son of God, came to reveal God's mercy.
We have a radical poverty. We do not know how to love and we do not love. We judge people and dismiss people. We wait for others to offer it to us. We like to judge and act like people do not deserve our love especially when people are unjust to us. God came to us to show what an unconditional love means until death. We do not want to give love because we still do not know what God is offering to us and how much love He has for us. We do not give love because we do not have love or we are busy complaining and blaming and hating others rather than be part of healing, reconciliation. We want quick solution and we do not want to be part of the messiness of love. We who are in the throw away culture in United States need to go back to our roots. We are created in the image and likeness of God. We are still struggling how to get there as a society.
Death penalty is not the solution to justice. There are root causes to be tackled such as mental health, broken family and social system, drug abuse, poverty, greed, etc. It takes the whole society to heal a broken justice system. There has been a lot of documentation on this about how costly this death penalty is apart from the church seeing this as immoral. Catechism 2267 states this as against our call to treat justly the dignity of every person:
"in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”,[1] and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide. "
God loves everyone. He has the preferential option for the poor. Jesus Christ lives among the poor. He is alive in all of us and we can see them in the eyes of our brothers and sisters. This is an invitation to read, reflect and study the Papal Exhortation "Dilexi Te" or "I have loved you https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html
Ponder on what God is calling you to practice. Put love into action:
Upcoming Events on Death Penalty Abolition: https://deathpenalty.org/34th-annual-awards-dinner/
Cohort for Deacons by Catholic Mobilizing Network (Deadline to Apply May 19): https://catholicsmobilizing.org/companion-training-conversations-in-communion/
To join the Abolition Cause: https://tcadp.org/get-involved/take-action/
To join the Innocence Project: https://innocenceproject.org/sign-petitions/
To oppose an execution: https://catholicsmobilizing.org/our-work/death-penalty/executions/
Read more:
https://deathpenalty.org/usa-death-penalty/
https://eji.org/news/the-death-penalty-and-regret/
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/08/02/180802a.html
https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_scheduled_executions.html
https://tcadp.org/get-informed/texas-death-penalty-facts/
