Death Penalty
The Latest
Pope Francis releases World Day of Peace message, renews call to end death penalty
Pope Francis on Thursday released his message for the 58th World Day of Peace, commemorated annually on Jan. 1, with... Read more
U.S. bishops call for Biden to spare federal death row prisoners before leaving office
The U.S. bishops have, as a body, been calling for an end to the federal death penalty since 1980 when... Read more
U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Missouri convicted murderer’s death row case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a Missouri death row prisoner’s appeal on the eve of his... Read more
Missouri bishops urge state to refrain from executing convicted child-killer next month
Police said Christopher Collings confessed to killing Rowan Ford after raping her on Nov. 3, 2007. The murder took place... Read more
Texas Supreme Court allows previously-delayed execution of Robert Roberson to proceed
The Texas House of Representatives Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence last month issued a subpoena for Robert Roberson to appear before... Read more
Catholic group urges Biden to commute federal death sentences before Trump takes office
Catholic Mobilizing Network said in a Nov. 6 statement that the federal death penalty is a “broken” system that “does... Read more
Texas death row inmate, spared execution, barred from testifying to state lawmakers
Robert Roberson was convicted in 2003 of the murder of his infant daughter, Nikki, whom he had brought to a... Read more
Texas man’s execution halted after last-minute subpoena to testify before state Legislature
The Supreme Court of Texas said in a post on X late Thursday that it had “effectively [halted] the execution... Read more
Supreme Court hears oral arguments in consequential Oklahoma death penalty case
This is the second time Richard Glossip’s contentious death sentence has come before the Supreme Court. Read more
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Missouri executes Muslim prisoner Marcellus Williams despite Catholic protest
Citing opposition to the death penalty and doubts about Williams’ guilt, a local and national outcry did not stop the... Read more
Missouri death row inmate claims racial bias, seeks to stop execution
A Missouri death row inmate sentenced to death for murder will have his case reviewed by the state Supreme Court... Read more
‘It gives me hope’: Catholic advocates work to abolish death penalty at federal level
When it comes to abolishing the death penalty in the U.S., a small but determined band of activists and policymakers... Read more
South Carolina could execute a death row inmate every 35 days as death penalty resumes
A South Carolina Supreme Court order decided that a five-week interval between executions was “reasonable” and “warranted.” Read more
South Carolina ACLU asks court to allow interview of death row inmate before execution
Although every state imposes restrictions on media access to inmates, South Carolina is “the only state that bans this category... Read more
Pope Francis pens preface to US death row chaplain’s book on death penalty
The pope personally penned the introduction to “A Christian on Death Row: My Commitment to Those Condemned” by Dale Recinella. Read more
Anti-death penalty activists celebrate 200th death row exoneree: ‘Undoubtedly optimistic’
Catholic Mobilizing Network said in a press release that California prisoner Larry Roberts had become “the 200th death row exoneration... Read more
California governor: Pope Francis told me he was ‘proud’ of state’s death penalty moratorium
No one has been executed in California since 2006, due in part to a moratorium beginning in 2019 that Newsom... Read more
New study suggests rampant ‘cafeteria Catholicism’
Few Catholics are in full agreement with Church teaching on abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty. Read more
Oklahoma attorney general asks Supreme Court to halt execution of condemned convict
Since Richard Glossip’s initial conviction, two independent investigations have uncovered serious problems with his trial. Read more
California bishop praises district attorney for seeking to change death sentences
“Catholic social teaching urges us to recognize the dignity of every human being, especially the most vulnerable,” Bishop Oscar Cantú... Read more
