Dozens of young adults ages 18-39 from all across the country entered poems in Catholic Mobilizing Network’s 2026 Justice & Mercy Poetry Contest.

This fifth-annual contest invited young people of faith to write about the injustice of the death penalty through the creative outlet of poetry. Poets chose to reflect on the contest’s themes by highlighting the racial injustice of capital punishment, the risk of executing innocent people, and the call to honor the sanctity of life — particularly the lives of those on death row.

This year’s contest was dedicated in a special way to Kendrick Simpson, a poet who was executed by the state of Oklahoma on February 12, 2026. For Kendrick, poetry became an essential part of his life on death row. Through poetry and prose, Kendrick found a space to take accountability for his actions and face the grave harm he caused and to explore his identity and dignity as a person condemned to die.

For Kendrick, and for many people who are incarcerated, poetry is a meaningful tool to hold onto human dignity in the face of a system that strips it away.

The following individuals have been selected as finalists in this year’s contest for their outstanding poems:

First Place, “And Still” by Kate Letterman Conway
Second Place, “The Scent of Eden” by Madeline Page
Third Place, “I Know Justice” by Margaux Mayeux

Each poem brings to light the cruelty and inhumanity of capital punishment through the eyes of individuals who are most closely impacted by it, including a person who is facing execution, a medical practitioner that monitors an individual’s vitals as they are killed, and a mother who witnesses the execution of her son.

The third-place poem is written from the perspective of a person on death row, who finds solace in writing poems. The narrator’s belief in God reminds them of their inherent dignity, despite being considered by others to be dispensable:

“I will name myself beloved, because he called me so. / I will call myself his child, because he deemed I was.”

The second-place poem gives insight into the regrets of a medical personnel who plays a role in an execution by lethal injection. Though not administering the lethal injection drugs, the narrator contemplates their culpability through lack of action:

“It is not my hands that push the plunger on the syringe / That inject the death into his veins. / I have done no harm / But I have not helped, either / Is there a difference?”

Finally, the first-place poem pulls us into the heartbreak of a mother who watches her son being executed. She contemplates how she could have stopped this and what brought the two of them here to this moment; however, regardless of what harm he has committed, she still sees him for who he truly is — her child. She finds comfort in the image of Our Blessed Mother accompanying Jesus to Calvary:

“I am no Mary, / My son is certainly no Jesus, / And still, I can’t help but feel connected, / Can’t help but wonder, / Is this how she felt / Witnessing her son, / Being prodded to his death, / The shame, the humiliation?”

In this year’s contest, we remember that the death penalty perpetuates cycles of violence, not merely with the ending of human life. The death penalty ends the human creative spirit; but all of our young contestants used their artistic talents to uplift the dignity of the men and women on death row in our country, as well as the larger community of people who are impacted by state-sanctioned violence.

Congratulations to the 2026 finalists, and to each brave young advocate who generously shared their voice in opposition to the death penalty. This is the future of anti-death penalty advocacy.

Read the Winning Poems