Sisters of Mercy Respond to Imminent McVeigh Execution

The Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of New Jersey join thousands of others in calling for a more humane response to the imminent execution of Timothy McVeigh. They offer the following statement as a reaffirmation of their earlier commitment to end the death penalty.


Statement

In December of 1999, as a result of a referendum, the Sisters of Mercy voted overwhelmingly to end the death penalty. Our corporate stand came after prayerful reading, reflection, and conversation in our local communities. The execution of Timothy McVeigh on May 16 compels us to reiterate our stance. The desire for vengeance will never restore victims of violent crime to life. It only serves to increase the pain of those who have suffered loss and contributes to the spiral of violence within our society. State-sanctioned killing, even of someone like Timothy McVeigh, diminishes all of us and denies the reality that all life comes from God and returns to God.

We invite persons of faith to join us in prayer for all victims of the Oklahoma bombing, their families, and friends as well as for Mr. McVeigh and his family on Wednesday, May 16 at 8:00 am EDT, the hour at which Timothy McVeigh is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection.

Click here to view the Sisters of Mercy corporate statement.