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Suggested Message:
Identify yourself as a person of faith (you may even
wish to state you are Lutheran).
Call,
write or e-mail your Pennsylvania State Senator. See
“What You Can Do” above.
Background:
In a 2002 case,
Over
the past two legislative sessions, the Pennsylvania
General Assembly has had competing bills aimed at
implementing this ruling for
As of
October 29 with the Senate passage of
Senate Bill 751,
individuals with mental retardation will potentially be
protected under the law and legally not eligible for a
death sentence in
All members of the Pennsylvanians for
Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the Pennsylvania
(Death Penalty) Moratorium Coalition (LAMPa participates
in this Coalition) are asked to thank their senators who
voted for the passage of SB 751, and to express
opposition to the death penalty and support of banning
the death penalty for mentally retarded persons to the
three senators who voted against the bill. Stay tuned
for an Action Alert regarding PA House action.
Why This Issue is Important to Lutherans:
ELCA
Policy Base: The ELCA social statement,
The Death Penalty
(1991), outlines our position in opposition to capital
punishment. Executions harm society by mirroring and
reinforcing existing injustice. It perpetuates cycles
of violence. The practice of the death penalty
undermines any possible moral message we might want to
send. It is not fair and fails to make society better
or safer. The message conveyed by an execution is one
of brutality and violence. Because of our church’s
commitment to justice we oppose the death penalty.
Our
church is committed to restorative justice which means
addressing the hurt of each person whose life has been
touched by violent crime. Restorative justice makes the
community safer for all. Executions focus on the
convicted murderer, providing very little for the
victim’s family or anyone else whose life has been
touched by the crime. Capital punishment also focuses
on retribution, reflecting a spirit of vengeance.
Executions do not restore broken society and can
actually work counter to restoration. We recognize the
need to protect society so we advocate removing
offenders from the general population, placing them in a
secure facility and denying them the possibility of
committing further crime.
Despite
attempts to provide legal safeguards, the death penalty
has not been and cannot be made fair. The system cannot
be made perfect since biases, prejudice, and chance
affect who is charged with a capital crime, what verdict
is reached, and whether appeals will be successful.
Since human beings are fallible, the innocent have been
executed in the past and will inevitably be executed in
the future. Death is different punishment from any
other. The execution of an innocent person is a mistake
that can never be corrected.
For
More Information:
·
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
(http://www.pa-abolitionists.org/)
·
American Civil Liberties Union of PA
(http://www.aclupa.org/)
·
Amnesty International
on the death penalty (http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/index.do)
Sources: Pennsylvanians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty
If you do not know which
district you live in click
here
and enter your zip code.
Senator Vote/District/Phone
#
BAKER
N 20
BRUBAKER
Y 36 (717)
CORMAN Y
34
COSTA Y
43
DINNIMAN
Y 19
EARLL
Y 49
EICHELBERGER Y
30
FERLO
Y 38
FOLMER N 48
FUMO
Y 1
GORDNER
Y 27
GREENLEAF
Y 12
KASUNIC
Y 32
KITCHEN
Y 3
LAVALLE
Y 47
MADIGAN
Y 23
MCILHINNEY Y
10
MELLOW
Y 22
MUSTO
Y 14
ORIE
Y 40
PICCOLA N 15
PILEGGI
Y 9
PIPPY
Y 37
PUNT
Y 33
RAFFERTY
Y 44
REGOLA
Y 39
RHOADES
Y 29
STACK
Y 5
STOUT
Y 46
TARTAGLIONE Y
2
TOMLINSON
Y 6 (717)
WHITE,
WHITE,
WONDERLING
Y 24
WOZNIAK
Y 35 |