Brochure of the Month

Brochure of the Month:  April 2021

Racism and the Death Penalty:
Compounding Systems of Dehumanization 

      “Racism is a life issue…[it] directly places brother and sister against each other, violating the dignity inherent in each person.”  (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) Capital punishment has its roots in slavery, lynching, and segregation. In the post-civil war era lynching was replaced with show trials and death sentences of black defendants. Today, the death penalty perpetuates racial discrimination within the U.S. criminal justice system. Prosecutors are more likely to seek capital punishment when the victim is white than where a victim is a person of color.  People of color have also been excluded from juries, and are overrepresented among those wrongly convicted.

The full article can be found:   English     Not available in Spanish

Accompanying document: Restorative Approaches in a Time of Racial Reckoning
We are called to pursue a justice that upholds human dignity, builds relationships, seeks healing, and enables transformation within individuals, communities and social systems.

The full article can be found:     English   Not available in Spanish