While we recognize a need to restrain those whose dangerous behavior is a threat, that restraint and any help offered must reflect our concern for that of God in everyone. The prejudice, dishonesty, and racism prevalent in society frequently lead to unfair and unjust sentences and to brutality in the handling of prisoners. Improvement in the parole system and the reduction of pretrial time are greatly needed. We have consistently opposed capital punishment. Each person is uniquely valuable and divine, and none is totally beyond redemption.
Capital punishment rejects the message of forgiveness.
In some cases, it legally destroys innocent persons, and in all cases it degrades the humanity of the executioners and of the society that endorses the act. Those of us fortunate in worldly goods need to be aware of the suffering that poverty imposes on much of humanity. All that we have, spiritual or material, belongs to God and should be used in God's service. Hundreds of millions of people live in privation hard to imagine here in America. As we seek social justice, we find that physical need is often the root of lawlessness, alienation, oppression, and prejudice.