by Joe Bukuras Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2022 / 15:56 pm In response to a federal court decision affirming the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s death penalty protocol, Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City on Monday called on state lawmakers to end the death penalty. “No matter the decision of the …

Kwame was just 17 when he, along with his older brother and another childhood friend, were sentenced to death for the robbery and murder of a man outside a convenience store in Cleveland. The three had no criminal records, no physical evidence against them was found and credible eye-witnesses testified …

By Christine Rousselle Washington D.C., May 19, 2021 / 15:15 pm America/Denver (CNA). Catholics are asking the governor of Texas to halt an execution scheduled for Wednesday evening. Quintin Jones, 41, who was sentenced to death in 2001 for the 1999 murder of his great-aunt, is scheduled to be executed …

Washington D.C., Feb 22, 2021 / 04:00 pm MT (CNA).- Virginia is expected to become the first southern state to abolish the death penalty, after its general assembly voted on Monday to end the practice. The state senate voted 22 to 16 to approve H.B. 2263, which would abolish the …

Washington D.C., Jan 26, 2021 / 03:55 pm MT (CNA).- Dozens of members of Congress are urging the Attorney General-designate to stop use of the federal death penalty. In a letter to Attorney General-designate Merrick Garland on Tuesday, 45 members of the House—led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Adriano …

by Matt Hadro Washington D.C., Jan 11, 2021 / 03:34 pm MT (CNA).- In a joint statement Jan. 11, the U.S. bishops’ domestic justice chair Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, joined by pro-life chair Archbishop Joseph Naumann, called for a stop to planned federal executions on Tuesday, Thursday, and …

CNA Staff, Jan 9, 2021 / 05:00 am MT (CNA).- In an online panel Friday, the incoming chair of the U.S. bishops’ doctrine committee discussed the Church’s opposition to the death penalty as a matter of fighting the “throwaway culture.” “[B]asically the Church is stating the state cannot and should …

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2020 / 12:19 am MT (CNA).- The use of lethal injections will no longer be allowed for executions in the state of Ohio, and an alternative method must be found if capital punishment is to continue in the state, Governor Mike DeWine said this week. In …

CNA Staff, Nov 11, 2020 / 11:30 am MT (CNA).- The governor of Tennessee has delayed the execution of an intellectually disabled man due to the coronavirus pandemic. The execution of Pervis Payne was scheduled for December 3. It is now set for April 9, 2021. The bishops of Tennessee …

by Matt Hadro Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 6, 2020 / 06:00 am MT (CNA).- In his new encyclical, Pope Francis reiterated that the death penalty is “inadmissible.” Did the pope change centuries of Church teaching with that statement? A leading theologian told CNA that the pope’s teaching was a development, …