Eliminate Capital Punishment
Whereas the United States is the only western industrial democracy that continues
to impose the death penalty;
Whereas in 2000 the Virginia Annual Conference adopted a resolution “Calling for
A Moratorium on the Death Penalty”;
Whereas in 2002 the Virginia Annual Conference adopted a resolution “Calling for
Moving Forward with Study and Action on the Death Penalty”;
Whereas in recent years capital punishment has been imposed less frequently in the
United States in death penalty eligible cases than in earlier years,1 and in Virginia
there have been no new death sentences for more than three years;2
Whereas the alleged deterrent value of the death penalty is not supported by
empirical evidence;3
Whereas Virginia now has only 10 persons on death row ─ the lowest number
since resuming executions in 1982;
Whereas after working at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections
for over 32 years, including serving as Director 2001-2010, during which he observed
the execution of 33 persons, now retired Terry Collins recently called for removal of
the death penalty which he characterized as “often inefficient”, “always timeconsuming”, and “not a fiscally responsible policy” since it is more expensive than
life imprisonment without parole which “offers justice that is swift, certain,
effectively severe and perhaps more sensitive to the needs of healing victims’
families” who can then achieve closure and no longer be faced with the painful task of
attending appeals hearings;4
Whereas on January 11, 2011 the Illinois Legislature voted to repeal the state’s
death penalty and apply remaining funds in the Capital Litigation Trust Fund toward
murder victims’ services and law enforcement,5 and the Chicago Tribune has reversed
years of editorial support for capital punishment and called for abolishing the death
penalty in Illinois and urged Governor Pat Quinn to sign the legislation repealing the
death penalty in Illinois;6
Whereas since 1973 a total of 138 persons have been released from death row on
evidence of their innocence, including one in Virginia, strongly reminding us of the
danger of committing the irreversible wrong of killing an innocent person,7 and
Whereas in a 2010 poll a clear majority of 52 percent supported either life without
parole or life without parole with restitution, and 9 percent supported life with parole,
with only 33 percent supporting capital punishment and 6 percent having no opinion;8
Whereas police chiefs have ranked the death penalty last when presented with a list
of ways to reduce violent crime and considered the death penalty to be the least
efficient use of taxpayers’ money;9
Whereas life without parole provides the safety and security society seeks in
capital cases,
Be it hereby resolved that the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist
Church:
1. Affirms the historic position of The United Methodist Church which states that
“we oppose capital punishment and urge its elimination from all criminal
codes.”10
2. Calls for elimination of capital punishment in Virginia;
3. Requests the Governor and members of the General Assembly to prepare and
enact legislation that will eliminate capital punishment in the Commonwealth;
4. Requests Bishop Kammerer to invite other religious bodies and non-government
organizations to join us in actively seeking the elimination of capital
punishment in Virginia, and
5. Authorizes the use of this resolution, along with the above introductory material
and supporting documentation, for educational purposes.
Submitted by the Virginia Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action
1
Death sentences in the U.S. have dropped dramatically from 315 in 1996 to 112 in 2009. Death
Penalty Information Center <www.deathpenaltyinfo.org> “Fact Sheet” (19Dec2010).
2
Personal communication from Atty. Jon Sheldon, President, Virginians for Alternatives to the Death
Penalty, 14Feb2011.
3
Although the South accounted for 80 percent of all executions in the U.S. in 2009, it nevertheless
had the highest murder rate of 6 per 100,000; conversely, the Northeast, with less than 1 percent of all
executions, had the lowest murder rate of 3.8 per 100,000. Death Penalty Information Center, “Fact
Sheet” (19Dec2010.
4
Terry Collins, “Justice system can be improved by removing ultimate penalty,” Columbus Dispatch,
January 25, 2011.
5
Death Penalty Information Center, “Press Release” (6Feb2011).
6
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, 3Feb2011. www.chicagotribune.com (14Feb11).
7
Death Penalty Information Center, “Fact Sheet” (19Dec2010).
8
Death Penalty Information Center, “Fact Sheet” (19Dec2010).
9
Death Penalty Information Center, “Fact Sheet” (19Dec2010).
10
¶ 164.V.G, “Social Principles”, United Methodist Book of Discipline 2008.