Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley called on lawmakers on Monday to end the death penalty after the court affirmed its constitutionality in the state.
Catholic News Agency reported that despite court orders, Coakley said in a statement that pursuing the death penalty would support "the continued coarsening of society and to the spiral of violence."
Coakley continued to say that the death penalty will not "ultimately bring closure and peace" to those bereaved loved ones. He added that killing was "against the principle of valuing life." Then he urged state leaders to end the death penalty in Oklahoma, saying "Mercy perfects justice and brings healing." The archbishop stood on his principle that justice is necessary but insufficient to bring healing.
OK Judge Ordered Death Penalty To 28 Inmates
After a six-day federal trial, U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot confirmed that Oklahoma's three-drug lethal injection method was constitutional, allowing the state to seek execution dates for the 28 death row convicts.
Earlier this year, the attorneys of the plaintiffs appealed to the court, claiming that one of the medications used in the fatal injection process was illegal in the United States Eighth Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
They argued that the sedative Midazolam was insufficient to guarantee painless lethal injection which violates the constitution. According to Jennifer Moreno, one of the attorneys of the plaintiffs, the district court ignored the "overwhelming evidence" they presented at the trial.
One of the attorneys for the inmates, James Stronski argued that Midazolam poses a risk of suffering while the lethal process ongoing. He explained if inmates weren't properly anesthetized, they would feel "excruciating pain until the final drug was injected to stop the heart."
Experts in anesthesiology and pharmacology from both sides presented opposing views on the usefulness of midazolam to guarantee painless death. Moreno added that their team would still assess possible appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
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Archbishop's Stand On Death Penalty
Coakley is known for his stand regarding the death penalty. In 2021, Governor Kevin Stitt received praises from Coakley after he granted a convicted murderer Julius Jones clemency hours before his scheduled execution. After a "prayerful review" of both arguments, Stitt changed his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"I applaud his commitment to seeking justice while providing the condemned an opportunity for redemption," the archbishop said. For him, opposing the death penalty was not being soft on crime but becoming strong on giving life dignity. Afterward, Coakley offered a mass for Stitt and Jones.
The Catholic Church has long regarded the death sentence as a harsh but occasionally acceptable response to very serious offenses. Recent popes like St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI have advocated for the death penalty to be abolished. In 2018, Pope Francis updated the Catholic Church's Catechism to regard the death penalty as an attack on "the inviolability and dignity of the person" and called for its abolishment worldwide.
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