By Stoyan Zaimov,
The Christian Post, North America
October 18, 2012
The Roman Catholic Church is petitioning voters to support Proposition 34 in California—a bill seeking to end the death penalty in the state; arguing that “all human life is precious, even flawed life.” ”There are both public policy reasons and moral reasons to pass Prop 34,” Carol Hogan, Pastoral Projects and Communications Director of the California Catholic Conference, shared in an e-mail with The Christian Post.
The conference made their position on capital punishment clear in 2005 when they issued a statement titled “A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death,” where they highlighted two main points in opposition to the death penalty:
- The original intent of the death penalty was the protection of society from those who had killed a fellow human being. However, in modern times the state can incarcerate those convicted of a capital crime for the rest of their lives with no chance they will ever rejoin society.
- The application of the penalty of death can be irreversibly wrong—as has been demonstrated by many condemned individuals who were later exonerated with DNA testing.