Bishop Doug Sparks issued a statement today regarding the resumption of federal executions at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute. Portions of the statement are included in an article from The Episcopal News Service titled “Episcopal leaders call death penalty ‘abhorrent to God’ as Trump administration resumes federal executions."

The complete statement is below.

“I am saddened and troubled by the news that after a thirteen-year moratorium, our Federal Government, under this administration, has decided to resume state-sponsored and sanctioned execution at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana. The murder of a human person by another human person is abhorrent and deeply painful. Like you, I grieve the murder of any person and I reach out in pastoral care for those who mourn their deaths. However, it is important to underscore that the United States of America is the only developed nation that continues to believe that state sponsored execution is a deterrent to others who commit violent crimes including murder. At the request of the Attorney General, the Supreme Court, in a 5 to 4 decision, supported the notion that the state can humanely execute persons on death row. For more than 60 years, the Episcopal Church has affirmed it opposition to the death penalty, that it is repugnant and an affront to God which diminishes all of us. It is also true that the death penalty is disproportionately applied to the poor, to black, indigenous and other persons of color. The life and teachings of Jesus remind us again and again that every person is made in God’s image and likeness and that loving God and our neighbor requires us to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation. I am committed to seeking ways to end this kind of violence and to work for peace, justice and reconciliation.”

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indiana