"Florida bishops say use of death penalty 'sanctions revenge'," is by Catholic News Service.
Using capital punishment to show that killing is wrong "sanctions revenge," Florida's seven Catholic bishops said in a letter to Gov. Rick Scott.Asking that Scott commute the death sentences of inmates Elmer Carroll, William Van Poyck and Marshall Gore to life in prison, the bishops said the violence of capital punishment would do little to relieve the pain of the survivors of the men's victims or be helpful to society.
Scott recently signed warrants for the executions of the men over a span of 26 days starting May 29. Observers said the executions would be the most in such a brief period of time in more than two decades.
"Governor, will our citizenry be any safer, will Floridians be any better protected, if we execute these men? Will not the safety of persons and the preservation of public order be as secure if instead you commute these sentences to lifelong confinement?" the bishops asked.
"Killing people to show that killing is wrong is a piercing contradiction and one that touches our very souls," the church leaders added. "Executions coarsen us. We daily condemn the glorification of violence, but what example is set when our state legitimizes killing? What results can we expect?"
The Tampa Tribune posts the AP report, "Carroll executed for rape and murder of Apopka girl, 10."
A convicted child molester condemned for the 1990 rape and murder of a 10-year-old Florida girl was executed Wednesday at the Florida State Prison.
Elmer Carroll, 56, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. Wednesday after an injection at the prison in Starke, Florida Gov. Rick Scott's office said.
It was Florida's second execution in 2013. To date, there have been 13 executions in American death penalty states this year; a total of 1,333 post-Furman executions since 1977.
Earlier coverage from Florida begins at the link.
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