James Haupt
The Catholic Church’s stance on the death penalty is clear. It considers capital punishment inadmissible because “it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”
That language was added to the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018 under Pope Francis, and the Church continues to call for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.
This doctrine is now being put into focus in Tennessee, where two failed executions this year have prompted Catholic leaders to speak out, including the state’s three Catholic bishops.
RICK MUSACCHIO, Executive Director, Tennessee Catholic Conference
The Tennessee Catholic Conference on behalf of the three bishops of Tennessee have strongly been urging the state to move away from capital punishment, to replace it with life without parole. We’ve restated that call since the execution of Christa Pike— the attempted execution took place last week.
Christa Pike was convicted of killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville in 1995. She was 18 at the time and sentenced to death.
Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, an organization that advocates against the death penalty, has been closely following Pike’s case.
KRISANNE VAILLANCOURT MURPHY, Executive Director, Catholic Mobilizing Network
Christa Pike is 50 years old and she committed a murder when she was 18 years old. She was sentenced to death. If she were tried today that sentence is no longer eligible for teenagers. So if that happened today– that crime happened– she would not be sentenced to death.
Pike was scheduled to be executed on September 30. The execution was halted after two doses of lethal-injection drugs failed to kill her, leaving her in critical condition. This comes months after the failed execution of Tony Carruthers in May.
Following Pike's failed execution, Catholic bishops Mark Spalding of Nashville, David Talley of Memphis, and Mark Beckman of Nashville joined Episcopal and Lutheran bishops to issue a statement.
They prayed for Colleen Slemmer and clarified that seeking clemency for Pike doesn’t take away from the suffering of her and her loved ones. They then restated the church’s opposition to the death penalty and called on Governor Bill Lee to convert Pike’s death sentence to life imprisonment.
RICK MUSACCHIO, Executive Director, Tennessee Catholic Conference
We’ve had an ongoing relationship with Governor Lee throughout his almost eight full years in office at this point. He is a strong advocate of prison reform, of working with inmates who are incarcerated for their eventual release. And he has invited us to continue bringing our view on the death penalty to his attention.
Tennessean Catholics have also continued to speak out against the death penalty such as Stacy Rector, executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
STACY RECTOR, Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
We believe in the love of God, in Christ, to change people and to redeem people. And we believe in unconditional mercy. Right. Doesn’t mean there’s not accountability, there must be accountability. But do we need to take the life of someone. And the answer to that question is no.
Rector and her organization support alternative methods such as life imprisonment and investing resources in the prevention of violent crime.
Governor Lee has called for an independent review of the failed execution, leaving Pike’s future uncertain. As of now, she officially woke up Tuesday afternoon and is conscious in a hospital ICU.
