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Why the Catholic Church Opposes the Death Penalty

By OKIYA OMTATAH OKOITI
Published August 10, 2009

Worldwide, the death penalty is a most debated issue in the criminal justice system. The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty in nearly all cases, but it teaches that the death penalty is not intrinsically evil, as is the intentional taking of innocent life through abortion or euthanasia. And that the state has the right to impose the death penalty upon criminals convicted of heinous crimes if this ultimate sanction is the only available means to protect society from a grave threat to human life. However, this right should not be exercised when other ways, more respectful of human life, are available to punish criminals and to protect society.

Under the late Pope John Paul II, Catholic teaching on the death penalty was articulated and applied with greater clarity and strength. Other than forgiving the man who tried to assassinate him, in his encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” (The Gospel of Life), John Paul II writes that execution is only appropriate “in cases of absolute necessity, in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today, however, as a result of steady improvement in the organisation of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.”

Though the Old Testament prescribes the death penalty for many offences, overall, both the Old and New Testaments ask us to protect life, practice mercy, and reject vengeance. When Cain killed Abel, God did not end Cain’s life. Instead, he sent Cain into exile, not only sparing his life but protecting it by putting “a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight” (Gen 4:15). Jesus refused to stone the woman accused of adultery (Jn 8:1-11), reminding us to be cautious in judging others and to have hope in the possibility of reform and redemption.

In the new Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 2266), the principle is: “If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority must limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.”

A principled Catholic response to crime and punishment is rooted in the church’s convictions about good and evil, sin and redemption, justice and mercy. It is also shaped by its commitment to the life and dignity of every human person, and the common good. The church teaches that every life is a precious gift from God that must be respected and protected. Each person has a duty to respect the life and dignity of every human being. Even when individuals deny the dignity of others, society must still recognise that their dignity is a gift from God and is not something that is earned or lost through their behaviour. Those harmed by violence deserve both justice and compassion. Those who inflict such harm must be held accountable.

Within the Catholic tradition, punishment has several purposes: redressing the disorder caused by the offence, i.e., just retribution; defending public order; deterring future wrongdoing; and promoting reform, repentance, and conversion of those who commit evil acts.

Some argue that biblical statements about “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” require that the death penalty be used for certain crimes. However, the church teaches that the principal intent of such laws was to limit the retribution that could be exacted for an offence, not to require a minimum punishment. Hence, it is wrong to have two lives for a life, two eyes for an eye, and two teeth for a tooth.

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church states that “‘modern society in fact has the means of effectively suppressing crime by rendering criminals harmless’… The growing number of countries adopting provisions to abolish the death penalty is also proof of the fact that cases in which it is absolutely necessary to execute the offender ‘are very rare, if not practically non-existent.’”

Some ask whether those who commit the most heinous crimes or who are found guilty of repeated violence constitute the “rare” occasions when the death penalty is appropriate. In The Gospel of Life, John Paul II argues that the existence of a “rare” occasion when the death penalty may be used is not determined by the gravity of the crime but by whether “it would not be possible otherwise to defend society… No matter how heinous the crime, if society can protect itself without ending a human life, it should do so.”

Okiya Omtatah Okoiti is a Kenyan-based playwright, novelist, civil society and human rights activist. Reach him at omtatah@eafricainfocus.com