Supporting a Mythical Death Penalty that Does Not Exist

Dale Recinella, Catholic Correctional Chaplain for Death Row, explains the realities of the death penalty system in his recent article, "Answering the last gasps of Catholic support for the U.S. death penalty," published by the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty.

Recinella has found that the overwhelming majority of those who support the death penalty are not supporting the actual death penalty in practice in this country, but a myth that does not exist. "This fantasy death penalty kills neatly and quietly without horrendous botched executions. It causes no harm to the innocent family of the condemned or to the staff and officers who must kill as part of their job. The myth even promises that families of murder victims will experience healing from watching the state commit a legal homicide - the killing of the offender. This mythical death penalty is not biased by race or wealth, only convicts the guilty, only attaches to the worst of the worst, only costs a fraction of life imprisonment, only ... only ... only it does not exist."