Death Penalty

“To oppose the death penalty is to affirm hope — that no one, even a person who has committed a grave crime, is beyond the reach of grace.”

An October 2025 Gallup poll found that a slim majority of Americans (52%) said they favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder.

Florida’s Catholic bishops have urged Gov. Ron DeSantis to stay executions scheduled for Dec. 9 and Dec. 18.

“It is more important than ever that we shine a light on capital punishment’s failures and come together to show growing bipartisan support for ending executions,” said the director of …

Florida’s Catholic bishops wrote to Gov. Ron DeSantis, urging the state’s Catholic governor to stay the scheduled Oct. 14 execution of Samuel “Sammy” Smithers.

The Sept. 25 memo said to seek “the death penalty in all appropriate cases where, following full examination of the evidence and other relevant information, the applicable factors justify a …

President Donald Trump said at an Aug. 26 Cabinet meeting that capital punishment will be sought for all murders in Washington, D.C.

“We urge you to spare Mr. Windom’s life. “Every human life, given by God, is sacred,” the Florida bishops wrote Aug. 21 to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

(OSV News) — “The future of the death penalty in the United States seems to be at a pivotal moment,” observed Emmjolee Mendoza Waters as she introduced three speakers for her …

G. Marcus Cole, Notre Dame Law School dean, said that in 2018, Pope Francis made it clear that Catholics must now oppose the death penalty.