By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a “penal populism” that promises to solve society’s problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice.

CNS Reports Appeals court stays Texas execution over claim of mental disability AUSTIN, Texas (CNS) — An execution scheduled for May 13 in Huntsville was stayed by a federal appeals court in New Orleans two hours before Robert James Campbell was set to be put to death.

By Eileen Connelly, OSU The Catholic Telegraph  Joe D’Ambrosio spent more than 20 years on Ohio’s death row protesting his innocence in the 1988 murder of 19-year-old Anthony Klann of Cleveland. In early 2012 D’Ambrosio became the sixth death row inmate to be exonerated in Ohio and the 140th overall in …

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 By Mary Caffrey Knapke DAYTON DEANERY — Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge A.J. Wagner recently removed himself from a murder case, citing his opposition to the death penalty. Wagner, who is Catholic, also indicated that he will excuse himself from any future capital cases.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 By Scott Mussari Three essentially obscure men — Gregory Bryant-Bey, Brett Hartman and Dismas — are separated by thousands of years and tens of thousands of miles, and yet are linked by one common distinction. All three were considered useless and worthless and deemed disposable by …