United Methodists join vigil opposing death penalty

A UMNS Feature By Kathy L. Gilbert*

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the United Methodist Church's call to end executions and the 30th anniversary of a decision by the United States Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary, the United Methodist Board of Church and Society is resurrecting the United Methodists Against the Death Penalty network.

Retired United Methodist Bishop Ray Chamberlain will speak during Starvin' for Justice, an annual fast and vigil opposing capital punishment. The vigil will be held in front of the United States Supreme Court June 29-July 2. The dates commemorate the historic 1972 and 1976 Supreme Court rulings that first suspended the death penalty and later allowed executions to resume.

"All executions are brutal," Chamberlain said. "I don't know of any humane way for the state to execute someone. Does the person being executed prefer the electric chair to being taken out to the town square and having their head cut off?" The church stands on the side of respecting all human life, he said.

At its 1956 General Conference, the Methodist Church declared: "We stand for the application of the redemptive principle to the treatment of offenders against the law, the reform of penal and correctional methods, and to criminal court procedures. We deplore the use of capital punishment." (Social Principals, 164G)

The United Methodist Church has passed resolutions opposed to the death penalty since 1976.
"Our church comes down on the side of respect of human life," Chamberlain said. Calling people criminals instead of human beings is an excuse to treat them differently, he said.

"I just don't know that we should take it (executions) in our hands--to take a needle and think because it is sterile it is alright. It hurts me very much to see what we are doing in our country about capital punishment."

The board passed a resolution at its 2006 spring meeting celebrating the church's "prophetic statement" and the fact that the Methodist Church was one of the first denominations in the United States to formally come out against the death penalty.

"In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus gives us a picture of the final judgment and in it our righteousness is dependent on our treatment of the most vulnerable, including whether or not we have visited those who are imprisoned," said Bill Mefford, civil and human rights director with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.

"Our call to love those imprisoned is clear as Jesus identifies himself among those who are incarcerated. There should be no ambivalence in our stance on capital punishment - we as United Methodists and as the followers of Jesus are called to advocate for the end to the death penalty," he said.

United Methodists Against the Death Penalty is a network of United Methodists working and advocating against the death penalty in the United States. It has been inactive for a while, Mefford said.

"The United Methodist Church clearly stands against capital punishment throughout the world," he said.

According to Amnesty International, more than 124 nations have taken steps through either law or practice to abolish the death penalty. Currently, the United States, Iran, China, and Vietnam account for 97 percent of the world's executions.

Information on how to join United Methodists Against the Death Penalty is available on at http://archives.umc.org/frames.asp?url=http%3A//www.umc-gbcs.org.

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.