Chairman Statement on the Planned Executions in Arkansas, April 13, 2017

Chairman Statement on the Planned Executions in Arkansas, April 13, 2017

A statement from Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, urging Arkansas officials to halt a rapid series of scheduled executions and commute death sentences to life imprisonment. The statement frames the plea in Christian teaching on mercy, human dignity, and the Church’s long opposition to capital punishment. Bishop Dewane calls for commutation of the scheduled death sentences to life imprisonment and urges those with authority to infuse justice with mercy, abandoning the planned executions.

Context and central concern

• Arkansas planned to execute multiple prisoners in a short span (initially seven in eleven days).
• The expedited schedule arose from an impending expiration of a lethal‑injection sedative, turning a safety measure into a deadline for executions.
• Bishop Dewane appeals directly to Governor Hutchinson to reconsider and commute the sentences.

Moral and theological arguments

• Human life is sacred and every person possesses inalienable dignity; society benefits from rehabilitation rather than irreversible punishment.
• Church teaching (Pope Francis, Evangelium Vitae, other statements) calls for abolition of the death penalty or, at minimum, its use only in cases of absolute necessity—conditions not met in modern developed societies with secure prisons.
• Justice requires punishment but must include hope and the possibility of reform; mercy and justice must be balanced.

Practical and legal points

• The accelerated timetable reflects political or logistical expediencies, not the demands of justice.
• The statement references international and magisterial teachings that modern means exist to protect society without resorting to execution.

Pastoral posture

• The Church stands with victims and their families, recognizing their pain, while also urging a response that honors human dignity and allows for rehabilitation.
• The statement invokes the Easter narrative—suffering, liberation, and resurrection—as a spiritual basis for seeking mercy.

Bishop-Dewane-Statement-on-Death-Penalty-in-Arkansas-2017-04-13.pdf