By Jonah McKeown
CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2024 / 13:40 pm
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Monday launched a campaign urging Catholics to contact outgoing President Joe Biden and ask him to commute the death sentences of the 40 men currently on federal death row to life in prison.
“President Biden has an extraordinary opportunity to advance the cause of human dignity by commuting all federal death sentences to terms of imprisonment and sparing the lives of the 40 men currently on federal death row,” the bishops wrote on a webpage that provides a contact form for Biden.
The bishops of the United States have, as a body, been calling for an end to the federal death penalty since 1980 when they released a statement calling for its abolition, just a few years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed executions to resume in the country. Biden, a Catholic, called for an end to the use of the federal death penalty as a candidate for president, but that marked a departure from his previous political positions and actions.
The federal death penalty has been applied relatively sparingly since being reinstated in 1988. Just 16 people have been put to death by the federal government — 13 during the first Trump administration — compared with nearly 1,600 by the states.
In their 1980 statement, the U.S.
As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) continues to advocate for an end to the death penalty, their concerns remain relevant today. The bishops highlight key issues, such as the extinguishing of possibilities for reform and rehabilitation, the potential for mistakes in the legal process, the delays and anguish involved in carrying out capital punishment, and the unfair and discriminatory manner in which it is implemented.
Recently, the USCCB launched a petition urging President Biden to commute federal death sentences to terms of imprisonment. This call echoes similar demands from the Catholic Mobilizing Network, an advocacy group opposing the death penalty, citing the upcoming jubilee year in the Catholic Church.
Notably, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in accordance with a 2018 update by Pope Francis, deems the death penalty as “inadmissible” and an affront to human dignity.
The bishops’ petition is particularly timely given the staunch support for capital punishment by the incoming administration of President Donald Trump. During his term, federal executions resumed after a long hiatus, prompting criticism from the Catholic community, including the USCCB.
While the Biden administration has placed a moratorium on new federal executions, it has upheld the death sentences of certain individuals, including high-profile cases like the 2013 Boston Marathon bomber and the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooter. The continued pursuit of the death penalty for cases such as the Buffalo grocery store massacre demonstrates the complex and contentious nature of this issue.
Despite these challenges, the USCCB and other advocates remain steadfast in their commitment to ending the death penalty, emphasizing the sanctity of life and the need for justice that is both fair and humane.
