Saturday, March 7, 1998

Death penalty resolution draws broad support

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

A resolution opposing the death penalty that was adopted by the Texas Conference of Churches drew support in this area from delegates as diverse as a Roman Catholic bishop and a Methodist laywoman in Munday.

Both the Most Rev. Michael D. Pfeifer, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, and Barbara Ratliff, a member of the Methodist church in Munday, were delegates to the conference which cast its vote on Feb. 24.

Although neither was able to attend the meeting, both gave their support to the resolution, and Pfeifer had a "whereas" he authored added to the resolution.

"I was happy to see they picked up on that," said Pfeifer, who is bishop of the 29-county diocese which includes much of the Abilene area.

The document, which passed unanimously, resolved that the conference call on all "judicatories, churches, members and caring citizens to work in every way possible to oppose the death penalty and to work to create a humane, just and decent society."

The resolution was forwarded to all churches within the Texas Conference of Churches, Gov. George W. Bush, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general and members of the Texas Legislature, candidates for those offices and to the chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Pfeifer said he doesn't think the resolution will have an immediate impact on the death penalty in Texas. The Texas Conference of Churches passed similar resolutions in 1973 and 1977.

"We don't see that this is going to change overnight," he said. "We feel we can slowly change the attitude of the people."

Pfeifer said the believes the Legislature might consider giving the governor the authority to commute a death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Currently the governor can only commute a sentence on the recommendation of 10 members of the Board of Pardons and Parole.

The Roman Catholic church has been opposed to the death penalty for at least the past 50 years, and the current pope, John Paul II, is strongly opposed to it, Pfeifer said.

"We recognize the state does have absolute authority," he said, but added that the church hopes other means of punishment for heinous crimes will be considered.

Barbara Ratliff, a delegate from the Northwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, said she is opposed to the death penalty, but acknowledged it is a difficult issue.

"I don't know whether they are guilty or not," she said.

She said opinions are mixed among Methodists; however, she believes that most Methodists in the Northwest Texas Conference favor abolishing the death penalty.

"I think basically they're in agreement," she said.

Also in favor of the resolution were David and Sue Veal of Lubbock. David Veal is an assistant to the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas and voted as a member of the board of directors of the Texas Conference of Churches. His wife, Sue Veal, was a delegate to the conference.

Veal said he has no idea whether Episcopalians in this diocese agree with the resolution. However, the national church opposes the death penalty.

"There's not much question about where this church stands," he said.

Veal said his vote reflected his view that the death penalty is "unnecessary, terribly brutal and primitive and doesn't seem to do anybody any good."

One argument of the resolution was that "Jesus clearly rejected any ideas of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," an argument Veal supports.

"I don't think our religion buys that," he said of the "eye for an eye" concept of punishment.

Dr. Carol Worthing, executive director of the Texas Conferences of Churches, said the recent execution of Karla Faye Tucker heightened awareness of the death penalty in Texas and caused some people who were traditionally in favor of it to take another look.

The Baptist church is not affiliated with the conference, but Worthing said that if it were, many Baptists probably would have supported the resolution.

"They got converted over the business of Karla Faye Tucker getting converted," Worthing said. "The Baptist church really did a turnaround."

Tucker was executed Feb. 3 in Huntsville, the first woman to be put to death in Texas since the Civil War. The born-again Christian stirred debate over redemption on death row, and Texas' status as the most active death penalty state in the nation created nationwide discussion. Texas has executed 144 people since 1982 and set a record last year with 37.

Worthing said the media reports that 90 percent of Texans polled say they favor the death penalty, but she believes that a new poll taken after the Tucker execution would show a change of opinion.

"That has changed the climate," she said.

Worthing said The Texas Conference of Churches is made up of several "more liberal" mainstream denominations including Episcopal, United Methodist, Presbyterian, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian (Disciples of Christ), African Methodist Episcopal Church, as well as the Greek Orthodox Church and others.

However, there are no Pentecostal or more conservative denominations such as Baptist and Church of Christ represented, she said.

About 100 delegates voted on the death penalty resolution.

"It was the will of the entire body, and it was unanimous," Worthing said.