Tallahassee, Fla., Aug 13, 2018 / 15:41 pm
The Catholic bishops of Florida have asked for continued prayers for an end to the death penalty following the stay of an inmate's execution. They had previously asked Gov. Rick Scott to commute the inmate's death sentence and cited Pope Francis' new catechism revisions on the death penalty.
"Please continue to pray for victims of crime, those on death row, and for an end to the use of the death penalty," the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops said Friday afternoon.
Jose Antonio Jimenez, now 54 years old, was convicted of the 1992 murder of Phyllis Minas, a 63-year-old woman. He had been scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Aug. 14.
On Aug. 10 the Florida Supreme Court unanimously granted a request to grant the stay, without stating a reason, the Florida News Service reports.