• Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • What We Believe
    • The Oath Against Modernism
    • Why is Christ Our King?
    • Advisors
  • Our Activities
    • Legal Representation
    • Public Discourse and Debate
    • CKLC Pro-Life Seminar (October 6, 2012)
    • CKLC Seminar: Is the Constitution Catholic? (October 5, 2013)
    • CKLC Seminar: The Social Rights of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ the King (October 4, 2014)
    • CKLC Seminar: Traditional Catholic Teaching on Religious Liberty (April 10, 2015)
    • CKLC Seminar: 2016 Election Year Conference (October 8, 2016)
  • Resources
    • Quas primas
    • The Reign of Christ the King
    • Listing of Traditional Latin Masses in Southern California
    • CALIFORNIA ABORTION REGULATIONS – DIGEST
    • Flyers and Handouts
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Links
  • Donate
Christ the King Law Center

Vote No on Proposition 34

10/29/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
On November 6, 2012 voters in California will decide whether the death penalty will remain legal in this state. Proposition 34 seeks to abolish the death penalty in California, reducing the maximum punishment for convicted criminals to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. [1] The bishops of California, in league with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have come out in support of this initiative. [2] Christ the King Law Center (CKLC) respectfully disagrees.

First, the death penalty is good public policy. The bishops argue that in “modern times the state can incarcerate those convicted of a capital crime for the rest of their lives-with no chance they will ever join society.” [3] This is false. In modern times, violent criminals who remained in prison do indeed routinely kill again. For example, in 1981 Donna A. Payant, an officer in the New York State Department of Corrections, was brutally murdered by inmate Lemuel Smith. Smith was serving two life sentences for murder. If he had been executed, Donna would not have been murdered. [4] Further, in the U.K. it was recently reported that “nearly 30 killers released from jail have gone on to kill again on Britain’s streets in the last decade.” [5] The bishops argue that the “application of the death penalty can be irreversibly wrong” because innocent persons can be executed.  However as illustrated above, the failure to apply the death penalty can also be “irreversibly wrong” if murderers who are not executed murder again.

Second, according to the traditional teaching of the Church, legitimate civil authority has both the right and duty to punish deliberate murder (and other grave crimes) with the penalty of death. The Roman Catechism states:

     "Another kind of lawful slaying belongs to the civil authorities, to 
      whom is entrusted power of life and death, by the legal and judicious 
      exercise of which they punish the guilty and protect the innocent. 
      The just use of this power, far from involving the crime of murder, is 
      an act of paramount obedience to this [the Fifth] Commandment 
      which prohibits murder. The end of the Commandment­ is the 
      preservation and security of human life. Now the punishments 
      inflicted by the civil authority, which is the legitimate avenger of 
      crime, naturally tend to this end, since they give security to life by 
      repressing outrage and violence. Hence these words of David: In the 
      morning I put to death all the wicked of the land, that I might cut off 
      all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord." [6]

Thus permitting the application of the death penalty in California as the ultimate punishment for the gravest crimes is both good public policy and in harmony with our Catholic faith. For these reasons, we urge Catholics to vote no on Proposition 34.

[1] Los Angeles Times, “California death penalty foes to try for ballot initiative”, August 26, 2011.

[2] See: http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/issues2/reverence-for-life/death-penalty/538-prop-34-support

[3] Ibid.

[4] New York Times, “Two-time murderer accused of killing a prison guard”, June 7, 1981. 

[5] See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7147662/Killers-freed-to-kill-again.html.

[6] See: http://www.cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tcomm05.htm. 



0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    This blog does not have one single author. Instead various contributors are invited to post articles with the permission of Christ the King Law Center (CKLC). The opinions expressed by authors other than CKLC do not necessarily express those of CKLC.

    Please help keep this apostolate running by donating here:
    Donate

    Archives

    April 2025
    December 2024
    October 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    August 2023
    April 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    December 2021
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    March 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.