Oppose the Death Penalty – Referred to the Parishes by Bishop Solis
Dear Allies,
bit.ly/UtahLeadersOpposingExecutions provides a form for Utah clergy and other community leaders to add their names to this Utah Community Leaders Sign-On Letter which will be presented to Governor Cox following a press conference at the Statehouse in Salt Lake City at 11am on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. Adding your name will not add you to any email list and your contact information will not be shared.
Clergy
Business Leaders
Educators
Organizational Staff & Board Members
Civic Group Leaders
Others who self-identify as Community Leaders
Please invite colleagues to join you in adding your name to this letter.
Initial Deadline: 9am MDT on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
GENERAL PETITION
This letter is intended for clergy and other community leaders. There is also a general petition for individuals to sign which will be presented at the same time. Those opposed to the scheduled execution of Taberon Honie may add their names here: bit.ly/TaberoneHonie.
TO: All Members of the Utah Legislature & Governor Cox
We are calling upon you as leaders and policy makers in Utah to prohibit the imposition of the death penalty for any violation of Federal or State law, and for other purposes. As people of faith and/or conscience who live in Utah, we are committed to policies rooted in justice and grounded in the promise of redemption. While we come from varied backgrounds and political stances, we stand together against the state having the power or obligation to kill in the names of all who live here. Instead, we are motivated by the restorative power of love and investments in transformation.
We hold deep love and respect for victims and co-victims of crime, and we most certainly are not opposed to accountability for rightfully convicted persons. However, we believe that the death penalty serves no moral purpose and executions are not necessary to keep society safe or to hold accountable those who have committed horrible crimes. Instead, it is a hollow instrument of death that offers no redemption, no closure, and no transformation. The death penalty monopolizes human and financial resources that would be better spent if applied to the co-victims whose glaring list of needs often goes unmet, and to increased efforts to prevent violent crime.
Now is the time for Utah to rid itself of this outdated and immoral method of punishment. Institutionalized killing contributes to the brutalization of society. Such a final and heinous decision should not be left to the discretion of flawed humans and a broken system too flawed to fix. As people motivated by faith and/or sparked by profound love and/or concern for the common good, we are calling on you to stop executions in our State and to support and pass legislation to end executions in Utah forever.
Click here to add your name: https://bit.ly/UtahLeadersOpposingExecutions
–abe
Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director/Co-Founder
Death Penalty Action
abe@DeathPenaltyAction.org
561-371-5204
@DeathPenaltyAct