December 19, 2024
NEW YORK – United Women in Faith, the largest denominational organization for women, is celebrating Advent by mobilizing its members to action. It called on President Joe Biden to commute the sentences of all 40 individuals on federal death row. As an organization committed to justice, we understand the ways in which the criminal justice system unfairly and unevenly targets people of color.
The Associated Press reported that “Studies of the death penalty have long shown racial inequality in its application, but a new report has found the disparity extends inside the death chamber itself. In an analysis of the more than 1,400 lethal injection executions conducted in the U.S. since 1982, researchers for the nonprofit Reprieve reported that states made significantly more mistakes during the executions of Black people than they did with prisoners of other races.”
“We’re calling on President Biden to commute death row sentences not on account of the one who did wrong, or the one who was wronged, but because of our love for God,” said Cynthia Holland, who serves as United Women in Faith’s Digital Advocacy & Organizing Assistant at the Office of Racial Justice. “I know what it’s like to watch a loved one sit behind bars unfairly. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to watch a loved one on death row and know they are innocent. The system is unjust and so is its application.”
As women who believe in the sanctity of all life, United Women in Faith opposes the death penalty.
The United Methodist Church’s Social Principles read, “Our commitment to the inherent dignity and worth of every person and our historic stance as United Methodists compels us to oppose capital punishment and the imposition of the death penalty…Tragically, the death penalty compounds the loss of human life with the deliberate taking of another life. Additionally, the administration of the death penalty disproportionately impacts people who live in poverty, those who are uneducated, people who live in marginalized racial and ethnic communities, and people with mental impairments.”
Emily Jones, Executive for Racial Justice at United Women in Faith, said, “We are honored to add our voices to the growing national call for President Biden to commute the federal death row before he leaves office.”
“We remember that God loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8) and that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23),” said Cynthia Holland. “We should be grieved by the things that grieve God. We call for mercy, reform and justice. ”
For more information, or to book an interview with Jones or Holland, email press@spotlightpr.org.
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