Current Status of the Federal Death Penalty:
On June 15, the U.S. Department of Justice scheduled three executions to take place over a five-day span beginning July 13. A fourth execution has been scheduled for the end of August. The legality of the federal government's execution protocol is still being contested.
The situation concerning the planned restart of federal executions is incredibly volatile and requires your continued vigilance. You can raise your voice in opposition to the resumption of federal executions and call on our government leaders to uphold a consistent ethic of life.
Take Action to Oppose the Restart in Federal Executions
Case Specific Information for Daniel Lewis Lee:
“In what may be an unprecedented occurrence in a capital case, the trial judge, the lead prosecutor, and the victims’ family all oppose executing Danny Lee and believe a life sentence is appropriate. The government has portrayed Mr. Lee as a white supremacist and a child-killer. Neither is true. He has long since renounced the skinhead groups he joined as a youth, and the government has now dramatically re-characterized its case against Mr. Lee; in fact, its own evidence at the trial was that he did not murder the child victim. Mr. Lee’s indisputably more-culpable co-defendant received a life sentence, in large part because the government relied on junk science and false evidence to secure both Mr. Lee’s conviction and his death sentence.
“Moreover, two federal judges, both appointed by Republican presidents, found on two different grounds that Danny Lee’s death sentence was unfairly obtained and should be invalidated, but procedural obstacles prevented both from granting relief. Mr. Lee is still trying to get a court to give substantive consideration to the problems in his case. Given all of these circumstances, it would be unconscionable for the government to execute Danny Lee.”
-Ruth Friedman, attorney for Danny Lee
-June 15, 2020
The Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty is unacceptable in all cases because it is "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person" and calls us to “work for its abolition worldwide.” (Catholic Catechism 2267)
