Faith Leaders of Various Traditions Gather to Pray and Present Letter Signed by More Than 200 Louisiana Faith Leaders
Baton Rouge, LA -- On Wednesday February 28th, in recognition of International Death Penalty Abolition Day (March 1st) Louisiana faith leaders of various denominations and traditions will gather on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge to pray for the victims of those killed and for the people sitting on Louisiana’s death row. Faith Leaders have been calling on legislators to have moral courage and political will to vote no on House Bill 6 that brings back the electric chair, that institutes nitrogen hypoxia or suffocation as a method of execution, and that keeps lethal injections drugs secret.
Faith Leaders from the Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Unitarian Universalist, Muslim, Presbyterian, Jewish, Episcopal, Quaker, Buddhist, and United Church of Christ denominations and traditions will be represented or present. After the press conference and prayer vigil, faith leaders plan to go inside the capital to meet with representatives about HB 6 that would commence executions in Louisiana.
What: InterFaith Leader Press Conference and Prayer Vigil
When: Wednesday February 28, at 9:15 a.m. local time
Where: Front Steps of the Louisiana State Capitol, 900 N. 3rd Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“As ministers to many of our greatest societal problems, we advocate for systemic solutions to violent harm that address our communities’ needs for healing, justice, and love, not vengeance and more violence. The majority of religious communities nationwide oppose the death penalty as an affront to our basic religious principles that uphold the sanctity of life. We stand together as a statewide interfaith coalition in opposition to the death penalty and against the cruel and inhumane methods of execution in House Bill 6,” said Alison McCrary, a Spiritual Advisor on Louisiana’s Death Row for 19 years and the Director for Louisiana InterFaith against Executions (L.I.F.E.).
“As a rabbi and religious Jew, I am personally opposed to the death penalty as it is currently carried out in the United States. But more urgently, I am deeply opposed to and troubled by the introduction of gassing as a method of execution, which unmistakably and immediately evokes for millions of American Jews horrific memories of the depravities our ancestors endured at the hands of Nazi Germany, when lethal gas was used to mass murder our people. For these reasons and many others, we as a civilized society should not resurrect this barbaric method of execution.” said Rabbi Phil Kaplan of Congregation Beth Israel in Metairie.
Governor Jeff Landry has been invited to attend and offer remarks.
Event will be live streamed at https://bit.ly/LouisianaInterFaith.
Contact: Alison McCrary, DirectorLouisiana InterFaith against Executions (L.I.F.E.)
504-484-9710
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