Bishops Plead for Death Row Duo

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Bishops Plead for Death Row Duo

Posted on October 13, 2006

By The Universe:

Two prisoners awaiting execution in Florida have received support from the Catholic Church after local bishops appealed to Governor Jeb Bush to pardon them.

The bishops acknowledged the crimes committed by Arthur Dennis Rutherford and Danny Rolling, and acknowledged the suffering they had caused, but added: "We must resist the natural inclination to think that only by taking a murderer's life can justice be served."

"We implore the governor to listen to the growing chorus of voices calling for a moratorium on executions in Florida and a careful examination of the state's death penalty system," the letter stated."

The antidote to violence is not more violence, we cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing those who have killed others.

"Society must be protected from criminals, but we need not go to the extent of executing them. The cycle of violence must end."

Arthur Rutherford is scheduled to be executed on October 18, and Rolling a week later on October 25.