An editorial of the death penalty that appeared in the Feb. 28, 1985 issue of The Georgia Bulletin received an honorable mention for best editorial in awards given by the Catholic Press Association at its annual convention June 4-7.

The editorial, “Lenten Reflection: Death Penalty,” written by Gretchen Keiser, concerned the execution of Van Roosevelt Solomon on Ash Wednesday 1985 after protests in the Georgia House of Representatives and at the state Capitol. One of four editorials to receive honorable mentions in the competition, which is open to Catholic newspapers nationally, the death penalty editorial was described by the judges as “intelligent, charitable handling of a volatile subject.”

First prize in this category went to the Fall River, Mass. newspaper, The Anchor, for an editorial on American Catholics becoming too mainstream; second place was given to The Sooner Catholic of Oklahoma City for an editorial on Treasury Secretary William Semon debating U.S. bishops on the economy; and third place was given to the Catholic Standard and Times of Philadelphia for an editorial on “The Holocaust: Days of Remembering.”