Mormons for Equality and Social Justice

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Whereas:

Analysis of the deterrent effect of capital punishment in the modern U.S. has consistently shown it to be unsubstantiated; AND

Analysis of the cost of capital punishment shows it to be more expensive, on average, than life imprisonment without parole; AND

Developments in U.S. legal systems and technology have dramatically decreased the chance of an offender escaping or further harming others; AND

A disproportionate number of racial minorities and the poor are sentenced to death, while white and/or affluent perpetrators have received lesser sentences for the same crimes; AND

An alarming number of those sentenced to death have eventually been released due to later evidence of their innocence; AND

Most developed nations have banned the death penalty, considering it cruel and unusual punishment, and are often reluctant to extradite perpetrators to the U.S. if they are likely to face the death penalty.

And whereas we believe that:

The scriptural admonition "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men" (D&C 64:10) challenges us to move away from a model of justice based on retribution; AND

People are most capable of repenting and coming to Christ in mortality, and less able to do so after death: "...spirit world repentance cannot recompense for that which could and should have been done on earth" (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, 315); AND

The plan of salvation as fulfilled by Jesus Christ made mankind "agents unto themselves" (Moses 6:56). We therefore reject any notion that involuntarily taking a life can make restitution as part of the repentance process; AND

As people called "to mourn with those than mourn; yea, and to comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:9), we are mindful of the suffering and grief caused by violent crime. We are also mindful of the suffering and grief capital punishment inflicts. We therefore believe capital punishment compounds, rather than alleviates, the suffering caused by the crime.

Now therefore let it be resolved that MESJ:

1. Calls upon all states to abandon the practice of capital punishment.

2. Calls upon the U.S. Congress to declare capital punishment cruel and unusual punishment by federal statute, and therefore unconstitutional.

3. Urges that all statutes addressing law enforcement, due process, and incarceration be based on security for society and rehabilitation of offenders, not on retribution.

Adopted 26 Apr. 2003

Mormons For Equality and Social Justice

PO Box # 511297

Salt Lake City, UT 84151

info@mesj.org

www.mesj.org