Press Statement

Five United States Conference of Catholic Bishops committee chairmen, prominent men and women religious, and national lay leaders representing key Catholic organizations released a joint letter Wednesday in response to the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic within U.S. prisons, jails, and detention and reentry centers. 

(Washington, DC) The state of Missouri executed Walter Barton Tuesday, in what became the first execution in the United States since the global declaration of the coronavirus pandemic. In that time, three states have stayed or rescheduled a total of eight executions, many citing concerns of COVID-19 infection.

(Washington, D.C.) Catholic Mobilizing Network, the national Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice, joins a growing national movement in recognizing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week from April 19-25, 2020, honoring the experiences of victims of crime, their family members, victim advocates, and victims’ rights groups across the U.S.

(Washington, D.C.) Colorado became the 22nd U.S. state to abolish capital punishment Monday after Governor Jared Polis signed death penalty repeal bill SB 20-100 into law.

(Washington, DC) A new report released today by the Death Penalty Information Center confirms that death penalty use in the United States remains near historic lows, with fewer than 30 executions in 2019 and fewer than 50 new death sentences for the fifth consecutive year. At this point, half of all U.S. states, accounting for half of the U.S. population (50.4%), do not carry out executions.

(Washington, D.C.) Catholic Mobilizing Network, the national Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice, delivered a petition to President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr today opposing the planned restart of federal executions. The petition was signed by nearly 3,000 U.S. Catholics, including signatures from prominent clergy and Church leaders such as Most Rev. Joseph A. Fiorenza, Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-Houston, Most Rev. William Justice, Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco, and Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ. Catholics join law enforcement officers, judges, victims’ family members, and more in speaking out against the government's efforts to execute federal inmates.

(Washington, D.C.) Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), the national Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice, strongly condemns Thursday’s announcement by the Department of Justice to resume the practice of capital punishment at the federal level.

(Washington, D.C.) A newly released faith formation guide invites audiences to explore the Catholic call to restorative justice. Harm, Healing, and Human Dignity: A Catholic Encounter with Restorative Justice is a timely work of Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), the national Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice.

Today New Hampshire becomes the 21st state to abolish capital punishment after the state legislature voted 16-8 to override a veto by Governor Chris Sununu on death penalty repeal bill HB 455. With the inclusion of the four states currently under governor-imposed execution bans, a total of 25 states in the union have distanced themselves in some formal capacity from the practice of capital punishment.

“Today’s declaration is a bold step toward abolishing a broken system that fails to protect the inviolable dignity of the human person,” said Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Executive Director of Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), the national Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice. “It reaffirms that every life is sacred and has God-given value.”