Governor’s anti-death penalty stance welcomed

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced last month that he is asking the state’s Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole to reconsider clemency applications filed by the 56 death-row prisoners in Louisiana. What do you think about the governor’s stance?

I, along with the six other Catholic bishops of Louisiana, applaud the governor for his position. Let’s make one thing very clear. Acting on his own, the governor does not have the power under state law to commute the sentences of death-row prisoners. He can act only after the parole board conducts a clemency hearing and makes a recommendation to him in an individual case. Another thing that must be made clear is this: The 55 men and one woman currently on death row in Louisiana are never getting out of prison. Even if their death sentences were commuted, they would be guaranteed to spend the rest of their lives in prison for the crimes they committed – unless there is a factual proof of their innocence. Society would be protected from any future harm. St. John Paul II made it very clear that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. In 2018, Pope Francis officially updated the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” calling capital punishment “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and deeming it “inadmissible” in all cases. We must always keep the Catholic principles of restorative justice in mind: supporting and restoring the victim’s family; making the offender accountable for his crime; and protecting the wider community. The death penalty is a pro-life issue, and the church has been consistent in advocating for its abolition. There are ways to protect society without resorting to capital punishment.

What is the current status of the clemency appeals?

As I understand it, the parole board so far has agreed to hear approximately 20 of the 56 death-row cases. We would support, at the very least, putting all 56 cases on the parole board docket before the governor leaves office in January. We don’t know how long the clemency hearings will take or when a decision might be reached. It could take months. These are difficult cases, obviously. Our Catholic teaching makes it clear that we support life from conception to natural death. And, we support and pray for the healing of victims. Those who have offended others through such evil actions are never getting out of prison. Even if you view the issue from a purely economic point of view – and we are not – it costs the state’s taxpayers $15 million a year to maintain a death row in Louisiana, in large part because of legal fees.

What impressed you about the governor’s statements about the death penalty?

He said something that I considered very prudent. The death penalty is final, and when you make a mistake, you can’t get it back. Everyone knows there have been mistakes made in sentencing 

people to death. Since 1999, nine people have been exonerated from death row in Louisiana.

Was there any movement in the recent legislative session to abolish the death penalty?

We had many people testify in the Louisiana House of Representatives in favor of a change in state law, but that bill never got out of committee. We will continue to advocate for the end to capital punishment in the state. We ask voters to view this in the light of their commitment to the pro-life cause and to write to their legislators about supporting the abolition of the death penalty. Executing people on behalf of the state is not consistent with our pro-life ethic. The state has executed only one person in the last 20 years. Gerald Bordelon was executed in 2010 after he waived his appeals. We join in support of the governor’s action to have the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole schedule clemency hearings for each person on death row. At the same time, we continue to pray for the victims and their families and for their healing and for an end to violence in our communities.

Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected].