Death Penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean challenged California Gov. Gavin Newsom to eliminate capital punishment in the state once and for all.
“Commute all the sentences on Death Row so that they will never be in danger of death again, and we the people will stand behind you,” said Prejean, a Catholic nun and author of Dead Man Walking, the national bestseller about capital punishment that was made into a feature film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.
Sister Helen Prejean
Prejean joined a lineup of activists and officials Sept. 11 in a press conference livestreamed from the steps of San Francisco City Hall. The gathering featured a display of 565 candles representing every person currently sentenced to death in California.
Speakers praised the governor for his 2019 moratorium on executions, for dismantling Death Row and the death chamber, and for moving condemned inmates to other prisons.
Those actions confirm “that human beings are always more than the worst act of their life, that human beings can grow, that human beings can change, that human beings can become again part of society,” Prejean said.
Eliminating capital punishment is the next logical step and perhaps would inspire other states to follow suit, she said. “Gov. Newsom, you’ve already taken these steps because the people of California in general are people who are reflective, who study and often lead us … and you have already shown where your heart lies and your conscience.”
Participants also presented a letter signed by more than 130 faith leaders imploring Newsom to commute all death sentences to life sentences.
“As spiritual leaders, we are often sought for guidance on complex moral and ethical issues, and we have come to a unified conclusion: The death penalty fails to serve justice and perpetuates harm in ways that are antithetical to our shared values,” the letter states.
The continued existence of the death penalty contradicts the state’s reputation as a leader in human and civil rights, the letter adds.
“Capital punishment disproportionately impacts the poor, people of color, and other marginalized communities. It is a system plagued by the risk of executing innocent people — at least 200 individuals have been exonerated and released from Death Row in the United States, highlighting the fallibility of our legal system.”
Transferring California Death Row inmates to general population showed a willingness to replace retribution and isolation with compassion and restorative justice, said Susan Shannon, a chaplain with Buddhist Prison Ministry.
“I hear from many of those on a weekly basis. They are exuberant at simply being able to be in the presence of another human being without shackles, let alone the opportunity to gain insight and understanding. Please continue this and commute all death sentences while you can.”
Newsom has the opportunity to demonstrate a just alternative to President Donald Trump’s call for use of the death penalty in all capital crimes, said Rabbi Jonathan Singer of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco.
“The guilty can live life in imprisonment, maybe learn and grow, but without putting blood on all of our hands because they didn’t have the right lawyer, they didn’t have the right defense, they didn’t have the right opportunity, they didn’t have the right therapist,” Singer said.
Related articles:
Trump wants death penalty for all murders in DC
Younger adults driving decreased support for death penalty
Trump demands death penalty be restored
Biden commutations leave only 3 on federal Death Row
Evangelicals could kill capital punishment system if they would, speakers declare