This commitment means addressing the hurt of each person whose life has been touched by violent crime. Restorative justice makes the community safer for all. It as because of this church's ministry with and to people affected by violent crime that we oppose the death penalty. Executions focus on the convicted murderer, providing very little for the victims family or anyone else whose life has been touched by crime.
Executions harm society by mirroring and reinforcing existing justice.
The death penalty distracts us from our work toward a just society. It is because of this church 's commitment to justice that we oppose the death penalty. Since human beings are fallible, the innocent have been executed in the past and will inevitably be executed in the future. Death is a different punishment from any other, the execution of an innocent person is a mistake we cannot correct. It is because of this church 's concern regarding the actual use of the death penalty that we oppose its imposition.