Bishops Statements

In 2015, the Bishops of Missouri came out with a statement calling for an end to the death penalty in the state and for support to promote the dignity and sanctity of all life. At the time, there was an increased number of executions which were taking place in Missouri rivaling other high-use states. A portion of the statement is read as follows: 

"We, the Catholic bishops of Missouri, write this open letter to express grave concern with the rapid acceleration of executions in recent months.

In 2015, Archbishop Coakley came out with a statement calling for an end to the death penalty in the state and for support to promote the dignity and sanctity of all life. At the time, there was an Oklahoma court case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court challenging Oklahoma's death penalty. A portion of the statement is read as follows: 

Massachusetts Bishops used the Boston Bombing trial as an opportunity to restate the church's strong opposition to the death penalty. A portion of their statement says:  

In 2009, the Bishops of Kansas came out with a statement calling for an end to the death penalty in the state and for support to promote the dignity and sanctity of all life. At the time, there was a bill being debated in the legislature which sought to repeal the death penalty. A portion of the statement is read as follows:

"We, the Catholic bishops of the state of Kansas, wish to register our strong support for Senate Bill 208, which would abolish the death penalty in our state.

In 2015, the Bishop of Utah came out with a statement calling for an end to the death penalty in the state and for support to promote the dignity and sanctity of all life. At the time, there was a bill being debated in the legislature which sought to reinstate the firing squad as a death penalty option. A portion of the statement is read as follows:

In 2015, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf granted a reprieve to an inmate whose sentence was soon to be carried out with death. Shortly after this reprieve was granted, Gov. Wolf imposed a moratorium in Pennsylvania, effectively stopping all executions in Pennsylvania until he is out of office. The statement, is in short the following:

The Bishops of West Virginia came out with a strong statement on many legislative life issues today, including the expansion of the death penalty. Here is a portion of their statement:

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, Diocese of Phoenix, was asked by The Arizona Republic in 2014: “What if Arizona repealed the death penalty?” His response to the question, below, was published in The Arizona Republic.

The Bishops of Washington issued a letter to WA Governor Jay Inslee at the time he announced a moratorium on all death sentences in 2015. A portion of the letter is read as follows:

In 2014, the Bishops of South Dakota came out with a statement calling for an end to the death penalty in the state and for support to promote the dignity and sanctity of all life. At the time, there was a bill being debated in the legislature which sought to repeal the capital punishment. A portion of the statement is read as follows: