World Day Against the Death Penalty 2025 Events
October 10 is “World Day Against the Death Penalty,” a day where people across the globe will gather to oppose capital punishment.
Here in the U.S, faith-based events scattered across the country on October 10 and throughout the whole month will echo the call: the death penalty violates the sanctity of life, and needs to be abolished.
Check out these opportunities below, and find out how you can get involved in a faith-based advocacy event this World Day Against the Death Penalty.
National (Virtual)
Monday, October 6 | 5 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET)
Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
Location: Zoom
Rosary Rally for Lance Shockley
Please join us for a Rosary Rally for Lance Shockley and an end to the death penalty. We will be joined by guest speaker Heidi Moore, the new Executive Director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty. She will speak about clemency campaign efforts and actions to take leading up to October 14th.
Click here to register.
National (Virtual)
Tuesday, October 7 | 6 p.m. ET
Tennessee Conservatives Concerned
Location: Zoom
Defending Life: A Pro-Life Perspective on the Death Penalty
Join Tennessee Conservatives Concerned Director Jasmine Woodson as she moderates a timely conversation with Adam Luck and Demetrius Minor on why conservatives across the nation are re-examining the death penalty.
Click here to register
South Bend, Indiana
Wednesday, October 8 | 4 p.m. ET
CMN & Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights at Notre Dame University
Stories of Justice from Death Row
The Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights will host a panel discussion with the Catholic Mobilizing Network on stories of justice from death row.
The Catholic Mobilizing Network is a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and all people of good will to value life over death, to end the use of the death penalty, to transform the U.S. criminal legal system from punitive to restorative, and to build capacity in U.S. society to engage in restorative practices.
A reception will follow the event in the atrium of the Hesburgh Center for International Studies.
No registration needed. Click here for more information.
National (Virtual)
Thursday, October 9 | 7 p.m. ET
Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center, and Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty
Location: Zoom
Virtual Solidarity Service: World Day Against the Death Penalty
On Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m. (ET), join Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, the Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center, and Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty for a meaningful evening of reflection and action on Zoom in observance of World Day Against the Death Penalty.
Together with people across Georgia, we will unite in solidarity with the global abolitionist movement. This special service will include:
- ✨ Reflections from faith leaders of diverse traditions
- 📊 Facts and updates on the death penalty in Georgia, including our most recent victory for justice
- 🤝 A shared call to action to amplify our collective voice for abolition
Be part of this moment of solidarity, learning, and commitment to a future without executions.
Click here to register
National (Virtual)
Thursday, October 9 | 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET)
Washington State Catholic Conference
The State of the US Death Penalty 2025
“The State of the US Death Penalty 2025″ explores national trends in capital punishment, including recent federal commutations and state-level shifts. The webinar will also reflect on Catholic teaching and how the faith community is responding to the continued use of the death penalty in the U.S.
Learn about insights on the shifting landscape of the death penalty—commutations, state changes, and justice impacts—while reflecting on Catholic teaching and how the Church is called to act with mercy and justice.
Click here to register
Columbus, Ohio
Friday, October 10 | 1 p.m. ET
Ohioans to Stop Executions
Location: Trinity Episcopal Church, 125 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215
Journey of Hope Panel
Join us on World Day Against the Death Penalty and hear from a panel of co-victims on how their experience led them to oppose capital punishment.
After the panel, attendees can write postcards to their legislator to urge them to support legislation to end Ohio’s death penalty.
Click here to register
Raleigh, North Carolina
Friday, October 10 | 4 p.m. ET
Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina
Location: Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, 715 Nazareth St, Raleigh, NC 27606
World Day Against the Death Penalty
Advocates & Abolitionists! Join us for another year while we observe the 23rd World Day Against the Death Penalty. Last year’s event was well attended and appreciated, so we are grateful to be able to offer it again!
Starting in the CHAPEL at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, the rosary will be led by Paul Wilson, a charter member of Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina. Then a peaceful one-mile march – with your sign or one of ours – from the Cathedral to Central Prison at 1300 Western Blvd, Raleigh where we will stand in solidarity with those 121 men and women on death row in our capital city.
I will be outside of Central Prison starting at 4:00, if you would like to start there and not take part in the march. If you plan on joining me there, or need info about parking, please reach out.
Let your voice be heard, on this important day, to express your opposition to the death penalty!
Click here to register
Tempe, AZ
Friday, October 10 | 7 p.m. MT
Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona
Location: Changing Hands Books Store 6428 S McClintock Dr, Tempe, AZ 85283
Book Talk: Secrets of the Killing State with Professor Corinna Barrett Lain
Recognize World Day Against the Death Penalty with us on October 10th and join us for a special event with Professor Corinna Barrett Lain who brings her powerful new book, Secrets of the Killing State, to Arizona.
Professor Lain is a leading legal academic who explores how faith, law, and justice intersect — especially on death row. Her work exposes the hidden truths of America’s lethal injection execution system and challenges us to rethink what justice should look like.
Click here to register
Pepper Pike, Ohio
Saturday, October 11 | 1:30 p.m. ET
Ohioans to Stop Executions, Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland
Location: Merici Crossings, 29777 Fairmount Blvd, Pepper Pike, OH 44124
Journey of Hope Panel
This panel event will center the voices of those who have lost a loved one to murder, also referred to as co-victims. Join us in uplifting these stories and hear how the co-victim experience has informed the panelists’ opposition to the death penalty. Postcards will be available for attendees to fill out with your own message, urging your legislators to repeal Ohio’s death penalty.
Asheville, North Carolina
Saturday, October 11th | 3:30 p.m. ET
NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Location: Land of the Sky United Church of Christ 15 Overbrook Place, Asheville, NC 28805
The Death Penalty Protects No One: What We Need Instead
Click here to register
National (Virtual)
Wednesday, October 15 | 1:00 PM ET
Notre Dame McGrath Institute for Church Life
Location: Zoom
Episode 1: Conversations That Matter | Witnessing Hope and Reconciliation: Human Dignity and the Death Penalty
In the Papal Bull for the Jubilee Year of Hope, Spes non Confundit, Pope Francis urged Christian believers to unite in opposition to the death penalty, which is “a provision at odds with the Christian faith and one that eliminates all hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation” (SC, 10). This fall’s Conversations that Matter series addresses the state of the death penalty in the United States in light of the Church teaching on the intrinsic dignity of human life and highlights stories of hope, restoration, and reconciliation from death row.
This series is co-sponsored by Catholic Mobilizing Network.
Click here to register
National (Virtual)
Wednesday, November 19 | 2:00 PM ET
Notre Dame McGrath Institute for Church Life
Location: Zoom
Episode 2: Conversations That Matter | Witnessing Hope and Reconciliation: Human Dignity and the Death Penalty
In the Papal Bull for the Jubilee Year of Hope, Spes non Confundit, Pope Francis urged Christian believers to unite in opposition to the death penalty, which is “a provision at odds with the Christian faith and one that eliminates all hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation” (SC, 10). This fall’s Conversations that Matter series addresses the state of the death penalty in the United States in light of the Church teaching on the intrinsic dignity of human life and highlights stories of hope, restoration, and reconciliation from death row.
This series is co-sponsored by Catholic Mobilizing Network.
