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WALTER EVERETT, whose son Scott was killed in Bridgeport in July 1987, listens to state senators debating a bill to abolish the death penalty. Everett, who forgave his son's killer, is an outspoken opponent of the death penalty. He and his wife, Nancy, at right, drove to Hartford from Lewisburg, Pa. (JOHN WOIKE / HARTFORD COURANT / May 21, 2009)
This morning, at 4:11, the CT State Senate narrowly voted to repeal the Death Penalty in Connecticut and replace it with life in prison without opportunity for release. While many bloggers stayed up late to watch the debate, including some great live blogging at Gideon's Trumpet, many of us went to bed long before the vote and only heard the results via traditional media sources.
It was a narrow vote in the Senate, and I'm extremely disappointed that my own Senator, Joe Crisco, voted against the bill, as did Senator Gayle Slossberg of Milford. Other Democrats voting against the bill included Sen. Donald DeFronzo, Sen. Paul Doyle and Senator Thomas Gaffney. One of the Republican's most faithful Senators, who lists herself as a Democrat, Sen. Joan Hartley also voted against the bill.
Many of us wondered during the debate where the church was on this. It seems as if some are very eager to rally against marriage equality, or against provisions to make it easier to hold church officials accountable for misdoings, but when it comes to the Death Penalty, we don't hear much from the church.
Like Gov. Rell, I'm an Episcopalian, so I'll refer to our church's position on the Death Penalty. In 1988, the Lambdeth Conference passed Resolution 33, which "Urges the Church to speak out against...all governments who practice capital punishment". Gov. Rell should respect the position of the church on this issue and sign the bill repealing the Death Penalty. However, most people do not expect this to happen.
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