Help End the Death Penalty

"The dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform."

Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1995

Help End Florida’s Notorious Death Penalty

A death warrant for Eric Scott Branch was signed on Friday, January 19, 2018 by Governor Scott. The execution is scheduled for Thursday, February 22 at 6:00 p.m. Branch was convicted of the murder of Susan Morris, a University of West Florida student, in 1993.  Here is an article from the Pensacola News Journal about the execution and the offense.

Although Branch's offense was heinous (as most capital offenses are) and he had a history of assaulting women, we Catholics must remember that our Church's Social Teaching proclaims that all human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.  Pope Francis reminds us that the use of the death penalty is unjustified.

For the full text on ZENIT’s Webpage, click here.

Click here for a fact sheet on the death penalty in Florida.

Teachings from the church

Florida Catholic Bishops

Call for an end to capital punishment.
 

Catechism of the Catholic Church

2267    Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm—without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself—the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically non-existent.

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