Contact Legislators to End the Death Penalty in Utah

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In March 2016, the Utah legislature came one vote away from repealing the death penalty. As the clock ticked down on the final day of the legislative session, there clearly was not enough time to fully debate such a major policy, and a definitive vote never was taken.

Two years later repeal of the death penalty is, thankfully, back on the table. Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, is sponsoring HB 379 Death Penalty Amendments, which would end the death penalty once and for all in the State of Utah. The Diocese of Salt Lake City urges Catholics statewide to contact their state representatives and senators in support of the bill.

HB 379 passed a House committee and should be debated on the House floor soon. If it passes the House, it will move into the Senate for committee and floor debates. As a diocese, we have been fighting for this pro-life bill for a number of years, because we believe the death penalty is reckless public policy that fails to promote the dignity and sanctity of life from conception until natural death.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church suggests that, while the death penalty at times may be appropriate to protect the lives of the innocent, “the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.’” In our contemporary society, where we can easily protect public safety without executing offenders, the death penalty is completely unnecessary. Even a cursory review of comments in support of the death penalty also underscores that protecting the public is not the goal of supporters. Rather, the death penalty in Utah is primarily an act of revenge.

It should go without saying that public policy should not be rooted in vengeance. If that is not reason enough to support repeal, there are many practical reasons to oppose state executions. For example, death sentences are more costly to implement than life without parole, and contribute to greater harm for a victim’s family because, with the numerous appeals, they are forced to relive the crime again and again. While some have argued the penalty is necessary to deter cases of murder within prisons, corrections officials nationally agree that the death penalty does not deter crimes, and prison murders are typically the result of inadequate training and staffing in prisons – problems better solved by providing adequate resources to corrections officials rather than taking life from someone else.

Sadly, some proponents are using the high school shooting in Florida as grounds for support of the death penalty, claiming revenge against the shooter as justification. Opponents of the death penalty can equally argue that Florida executes many of its inmates, which did nothing to deter this latest horrendous crime. In other words, the use of the penalty is mired in emotion, but there is little factual evidence of efficacy.

Any act of violence against a human being is a sin against God. We are called to defend the life of everyone in our society, even those we find hard to understand or forgive. A life sentence gives the perpetrator an opportunity for repentance and is an act of mercy, a far more effective punishment if our goal is to help perpetrators face responsibility for their actions.

In the remaining days of the legislative session, which ends March 8, as HB 379 comes to the forefront of conversations at the Utah State Legislature, we urge you to act from a position of faith, recognizing that, as Christians, we are called to protect all life. We are called to act with mercy and justice, and the death penalty offers a solution contrary to our belief systems. We urge you to contact your senators and representatives in support of HB 379: Death Penalty Amendments, by phone call, email, or through this link http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6279/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=25872.

More information can be found on the Diocese of Salt Lake City website, www.dioslc.org; and on the Utah State Legislature  website, le.utah.gov.

Jean Hill is the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City government liaison.