Works Cited

Kurtis, Bill. The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. Print.
Lifton, Robert Jay, and Greg Mitchell. Who Owns Death?: Capital Punishment, the American Conscience, and the End of Executions. New York: Perennial, 2002. Print.
Coleman, John A. Globalization as a Challenge to Catholic Social Thought. Loyola Marymount University: Charles Cassasa. Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought. University of San Francisco, 12 Oct. 2004. Web.
"U.S. Executions Since 1976." Welcome to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Web. 20 May 2010. .

Action Prayer

There are many things that America does right. Like feed its people, clothe them, and provide living space. But just like nation, America makes mistakes. The death penalty is one of these things. God created man to live and grow. God did this and said no one has the right or power to kill another human being. And yet, the government has done this many times. Even though people make mistakes, there are other consequences that can be put into place instead of death. We pray for those who have suffered from the death penalty, their families, and beloved ones. We pray that God can give us the strength to determine what is right and what is wrong.

Action Poster

CST Handout

CST #1 – Life and Dignity of the Human Person
We are called to treat everyone with dignity and respect. Unjust prices and unfair working policies must be changed. Human life is sacred and should not be used as revenge for murder. The human life is highly valued by the Church. However, the death penalty is threatening that value.

CST #2 – Call to Family, Community, and Participation

The survival of communities relies and families. The church says people have a right and duty to participate in society. When the death penalty is involved it removes these sacred rights. Every person is responsible to be involved in a community and the general society. Some have the responsibility to help the poor and the vulnerable.

CST #3 – Rights and Responsibilities
All humans have the God given right to food, shelter, clothing, and education. In addition, everyone has the responsibility to care for one another. The Church believes that every person has the right to live. There are also responsibilities that people must live up to such as taking care of their families.

CST #4 – Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
The needs of the poor and vulnerable must be cared for first. There has to be an option that is fair for the under privileged. The Church feels that people should help the poor and vulnerable. When an injustice like the death penalty arises, the community must act to fight against it and give people back the rights they deserve. We are all born with these god-given rights, and on death row these rights are stripped.
CST #5 – The Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers
We need to unite and spread the word about unfair pay and harsh working conditions. Workers should be protected by fair wages, hours, and working conditions. The Church feels that the basic rights of workers must be respected.

CST #6 – Solidarity
We are all brothers and sisters under God. As a society we have to learn that we must love our neighbors. Everyone is the same and no one human family despite age, gender, race or economic background.
CST #7 – Care for God’s Creation
Caring for the Earth is a requirement of our faith. We must protect the people and the planet. Everyone has the responsibility to care for one another and the planet. We must protect the world that God gave us. In today’s society, death row inmates face social injustices involving their trials and execution. Life is being threatened by the use of capital punishment.


Sources: USF – Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Interview Plan: Prepared by Brandon Norwood

1. Stefanie, you served as Program Director of Death Penalty Focus for seven years before being promoted to Associate Director. How has your responsibilities and focus of your job changed since being promoted?
2. In the past, you have lectured at different colleges in the bay area such as Stanford University and Notre Dame in Belmont. What were some of the things that you said during those lectures and what message were you most trying to convey?
3. As a person working against the death penalty, what exactly are you trying to accomplish?
4. I recently read the book Who Owns Death by Robert Jay Lifton. There were many times in the book when he discussed about how the severity of a crime can change within bordering counties. Do you think that our government needs to fix this problem?
5. You taught a class at UC Berkeley in 2001. What was the focus of the class and what were you hoping for the students to take out of the class and use in life?

Action Reflection prepared by Brandon Norwood

I chose to write a prayer on the death penalty for many reasons. First of all, a prayer can stay with a person for a life. A person can recite a prayer at specific times and pray for loved ones when they might need it the most. The words or specific phrases of a prayer can lead to inspiration to others that can live with someone for a lifetime. This prayer will have effects on people because it has deep thoughts and meanings. They are intended for not just people on death row, but their families, guards that work on death row, and the lawyers and judges that help make a decision of whether someone will receive the death penalty. Hopefully, the words and phrases in the prayer will lead to inspiration to others. I will continue and strive to learn more about the death penalty as I grow older and more mature. I want to help the families that have a loved one on death row and try and make it a more positive experience for them. I not only want to learn but I want to teach and tell people what I know about capital punishment so they can hear the point of view of this injustice from a young adult.

Action Reflection prepared by TJ Ryan IV

The action I chose for my social injustice was a poster. It portrayed the statistics of the people that have been convicted, killed, and that are currently on trial. I chose this action because during my research, I didn’t realize how many people are actually affected by this social injustice until actually seeing the numbers. It is striking, that this many people are struggling because of America’s social injustice in capital punishment. Thousands of people, some innocent, are left literally waiting to die on death row. I believe that my poster will make people think about the injustices in our world and act to help get rid of them.
My goal with this action was to notify people of an injustice. With the images and the statistics displayed I feel that I was successful in doing so. People that view my poster will be surprised that so many are affected daily by this injustice. Hopefully those who understand the injustice will work towards abolishing it, or at least dampening its negative effects. If everyone is informed of injustices in our society, we can better work against them as a community.
In my future I see myself taking action on social injustices. This project was the catalyst to my thinking about my prophetic role. Before this project I knew very little about social injustices and how people work with them. I know understand that it is easy, and rewarding to help against these issues. It is simple to get involved, and gives a feeling like no other.