The United Methodist Church's General Conference was held in Fort Worth last week. Vickie McCuistion of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty reports on a resolution adopted by the Conference. TCADP has this, which is also available at HULIQ.com, here.
The Texas specific resolution originated from St. John’s United Methodist Church in Lubbock, TX. Rev. Bill Martin, retired clergy and member of St. John’s stated upon the passage of the resolution, “We in Texas who oppose capital punishment deeply appreciate this prophetic witness from The United Methodist Church. It represents a direct application of the Church's affirmation that we ‘cannot accept retribution or social vengeance as a reason for taking human life’ and our belief that the death penalty ‘violates our deepest belief in God as the Creator and the Redeemer of humankind.’"
This resolution was developed in part due to the intensity of which Texas uses the death penalty without regard to the many problems within the death penalty system: problems of wrongful conviction, poor representation, the arbitrary nature in which it is imposed, and the great expense it represents to the state of Texas. The Rev. Julius Trimble of the East Ohio Conference and committee chair presenting the Resolution to the General Conference delegates, also pointed out that in Texas the Governor cannot commute a sentence without the vote of the Board of Pardons and Parole; and the specific event of Governor Perry, after a vote from the Board on commuting the death sentence of a mentally ill inmate, denying that vote and proceeding with the execution.
More on the General Conference, held every four years, is here via United Methodist News Service. UMC also has this death penalty resource page. The religion index is here.
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