justicepolicy.com - Death Penalty

Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty

Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty's
CALL TO ALL PEOPLE OF FAITH

Most of the world is moving swiftly toward complete rejection of the death penalty. But as country after country abolishes state-sanctioned killing, the United States continues to ignore this international trend.

In a nation that many consider the standard bearer of human rights, more than 3,500 men and women sit on death row. Nearly all of them are poor. Many suffer from mental illness or mental retardation. A disproportionate number are people of color. And some are innocent of the crimes for which they have been condemned to die.

Nearly every large religious body in the United States has a strong statement condemning the death penalty. But many religious people are unaware that their group has adopted such a statement. And very few have been challenged to discuss the issue.

The Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty Project was created to galvanize and empower the religious community in the United States to work against capital punishment. Coordinated by the American Friends Service Committee's criminal justice program, the Project provides people of faith with the tools and resources they need to become effective advocates for abolition.

We invite you to join us.

Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty

A Declaration of Life

A Declaration of Life

I, the undersigned, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do hereby in the presence of witnesses make this Declaration of Life,

I believe that the killing of one human being by another is morally wrong.

I believe it is morally wrong for any state or other governmental entity to take the life of a human being for any reason

I believe that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime and serves only the purpose of revenge.

THEREFORE, I hereby declare that should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered. The death penalty would only increase my suffering.

For a printable copy:

http://www.quaker.org/declaration-of-life.html

 

Amnesty USA - About the Death Penalty

"The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment... It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged members of society." - United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Each year since 1976, three more countries a year have added their names to the list of countries that have abolished the death penalty. A majority of nations have ended capital punishment in law or practice.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission has passed a resolution calling for all nations that continue to execute to restrict the number of offenses for which the death penalty may be imposed and to suspend executions with a view toward abolishing the death penalty.

While most nations have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, the U .S. continues to join a handful of nations with the highest numbers of executions. The U.S. has executed over 800 people since 1976, and as of December 2002, over 3,700 men and women were on death rows across the country.

No More Killing. Abolish the Death Penalty.

AmnestyUSA - About the Death Penalty