On September 30, the state of Tennessee tried to execute Christa Pike, a woman condemned to death for the murder of her 19-year-old classmate. She would have been the first woman in over 200 years to be executed by the state. However, after she survived two doses of pentobarbital, the governor of Tennessee halted execution attempts for the rest of the year.
This case has reopened the death penalty debate, particularly among Catholics. Despite the Church’s history of executing criminals and heretics, the general consensus among Catholics today is that the death penalty is intrinsically evil, and that to support state-sanctioned killing as punishment for crime is inconsistent with a broader pro-life position. This understanding is supported by statements and writings from three of the four most recent popes.
