Dear Suzanne:

The Catechism states:

2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."

This last statement was made by Pope John Paul II. While the death penalty may be morally permitted, its use may only be as a last resort to protect society, and only if justly applied. In societies, such as the United States and Europe, where there is more than adequate means to protect society through a Life in Prison, then the death penalty is not a moral choice for that society.

As stated, "the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity 'are rare, if not practically nonexistent.'"

As for the man who raped those poor kids, this teaching applies to him as well. There is no need to execute him. Society can be protected by sentencing him to Life in Prison without Parole.

One of the other criteria the Church mentions about the death penalty is that when it does need to be used, it must be used to as a last resort protect society, NOT as an act of revenge for the victims, or revenge enacted by the State. Revenge is immoral of any reason.

Thus, those people who commit horrors, like raping kids, mass murder, or any other heinous crime, their penalty may be life in prison without parole, but not the death penalty in societies like the United States.

Another aspect of Church teaching is that one must be sure that the person executed is the right man. In the 1990's 52 people on death row were unequivocally proven innocent and were released. Currently there are hundreds and hundreds of people in prison who have been found innocent even after 25 years. At least those people can be let out of prison. If we make a mistake with a man who is executed, we cannot resurrect him and say, "oops, we made a mistake, sorry."

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary