They are Roman Catholics, and yet their rage and grief have overwhelmed their obedience to the Roman Catholic Church teaching that the death penalty is wrong. They want Jeanne's convicted murderer, Joseph Henry, to be executed. About all the Clerys and Pope John Paul II might agree about on the issue is that Judeo-Christian Scripture seems to point in several directions on the death penalty. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil . . . Each major denomination balances these, and the many other relevant passages, differently.
People make decisions based on what they believe is authoritative.
For the Roman Catholics, it's the Pope, while liberal Christianity typically has as its authority structure the reason of man aided by various sources. As such, it still has force. But the United Methodist Church, along with many other Christian denominations, believes Christ's new covenant essentially abrogated Mosaic law, according to Bishop Peter Weaver, of the UMC's Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Taking a person's life we do not believe to be the exercise of love for that person. Two other world faiths that originated in the Middle East see the matter very differently, however.