Trenton bishop calls for end to death penalty at New Jersey hearing

Published: 2006-07-31

TRENTON, N.J. (CNS) -- Speaking for the Catholic bishops of New Jersey at the first New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission hearing July 19, Trenton Bishop John M. Smith called for an end to capital punishment because all human life has dignity and other means are available to punish heinous crimes. Bishop Smith cited a 2005 statement by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that said, "The death penalty diminishes all of us. Its use ought to be abandoned not only for what it does to those who are executed, but what it does to us as a society. We cannot teach respect for life by taking life." According to a December 2004 Zogby International survey of 1,700 American Catholics, only 48 percent support the death penalty, Bishop Smith said. "When given a choice, the majority of New Jerseyans who regularly attend religious services (54 percent) prefer life without parole over the death penalty for murder," he added. "While I am encouraged by these poll numbers, I believe that the trend against the imposition of the death penalty will grow in our community as people learn and grow in their understanding that the death penalty is inconsistent with standards of decency." Also testifying against the death penalty was Larry Peterson, who was recently exonerated after spending 18 years in a New Jersey prison for a murder he did not commit.

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