Death penalty opponents celebrate 200th acquittal for death row inmates: “Undoubtedly optimistic”

CNA Staff, July 17, 2024 / 07:00 am

Opponents of the death penalty in the United States are celebrating a milestone: in around 50 years, the 200th person sentenced to death has been acquitted, and the death penalty is being abolished in more and more states.

The Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), which campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States, said in a press release this month that California inmate Larry Roberts was “the 200th death row inmate to be acquitted since 1973.” Roberts had been on death row since 1983 after fellow inmates alleged that he had killed both a prison guard and another inmate.

CMN Executive Director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy said in the press release that the 200 acquittals were the result of “the tireless efforts of loyal advocates and dedicated lawyers.”

According to CMN, exonerations are cases in which former death row inmates since 1973 have either been acquitted of all charges related to the crime that landed them on death row or in which prosecutors have dropped all charges related to the crime that landed them on death row. This includes prisoners who have been granted a full pardon based on evidence of their innocence.

“As we thank God that these lives have been spared, we also think of the many people – both innocent and guilty – who have not and will not experience the same grace, whose lives are discarded by a system determined to throw them away,” she said.

Murphy told CNA in a telephone interview that the hundreds of acquittals were “a clear indication of how misplaced the death penalty is.”

“The trends are developing in our favor”

The CMN website states that the network “plays a central role in the state and federal campaigns to abolish slavery and works closely with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, state Catholic conferences, local dioceses, religious communities, and secular abolition groups.”

The group organizes “prayer vigils, press events, webinars and speaking tours” against the death penalty and also works to “connect key players such as church leaders and organizers of the abolition movement.”

When asked if the anti-death penalty movement was optimistic about its efforts, Murphy said, “Without a doubt.”

She pointed out that almost half of all US states and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty.

“The trends are moving in our favor,” she said. “The use of the death penalty is declining, as are the number of death sentences. There is more bipartisan support for repeals than ever before.”

“I think Americans are becoming less and less tolerant of this practice,” she said. “For all these reasons, we are constantly encouraged to do it.”

Among the groups CMN works with to fight the death penalty is Witness to Innocence. The organization is committed to “empowering acquitted death row survivors to be the strongest and most effective voice in the fight to abolish the death penalty and reform the justice system in the United States.”

Herman Lindsey, executive director of Witness to Innocence, was sentenced to death for murder in Florida in 2006. The state Supreme Court acquitted him in 2009, ruling that Florida “failed to present evidence in this case that could have located Lindsey at the scene of the murder at the time of the murder.”

Lindsey told CNA in a phone interview that Witness to Innocence offers exonerated prisoners – many of whom have trouble finding work – a chance at employment while speaking out against the death penalty.

(The story continues below)

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“We are running many campaigns simultaneously,” he said. “We are involved in many cases. We are working with each individual state and with lawyers on the cases.”

“If there is a case that is known, we are most likely involved in one way or another,” he said.

Murphy said there are “exciting things ahead that will help Catholics take action and speak more effectively about this issue.”

“October 10 is World Day Against the Death Penalty,” she said. She praised Pope Francis for having “expressly” stated that Catholics should campaign against the death penalty in the upcoming jubilee year of 2025.

The death penalty “contradicts the Christian faith and destroys any hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation,” Murphy said. “We should reflect and act on this issue in the anniversary year.”

Both Lindsey and Murphy were pleased about the 200th acquittal, but regretted that these acquittals were even necessary.

“It’s great, but it’s also bad that we’ve reached the 200 mark,” Lindsey said. “But the good thing is that it shows that organizations and lawyers are working hard.”

Murphy, meanwhile, said she was “pleased that more cases have been successful in getting people off death row.”

“But at the same time, it’s sad that so many people had to go through that, that they were sentenced to death and then acquitted,” she said. “Can you imagine that?”