From the Episcopal Peace Fellowship

Reacting sadly to US Attorney General Eric Holder’s January 30 decision to seek the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) asks the Episcopalian Attorney General – “What don’t you understand about ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’”?

“In a religion established on the non-violent philosophy of an innocent man who was executed based on perjured testimony, Christians should be working to abolish the death penalty. The forgiveness of Christ is unconditional,” said Ronald T Clemmons, a member of the EPF national executive council and chair of its Death Penalty Abolition Action Group.

“Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. His dying words asking God not to hold his executioners accountable for their actions are the quintessential example of love. Episcopalians, partnering with other faith-based groups, should take the lead in abolishing a judicial remedy that disproportionally affects the poor and minorities,” said Clemmons, a member of St. Paul’s Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Attorney General Holder’s decision also forces the federal government’s will upon the State of Massachusetts that has not killed a prisoner since 1947 and whose citizens banned lethal executions in 1984, wrote New York Times reporter Katharine Q. Seelye in the Times January 24, 2014 edition.

The Boston Globe commissioned a survey asking if Tsarnaev should receive the death penalty if convicted. 57 percent of the respondents favored life without parole, while 33 percent favored the death penalty.

In a related issue, the Boston Bar Association, with over 10,000 members, issued a statement on January 7 that the organization opposed the death penalty in federal cases. This decision was in line with the organization’s position on the use of the death penalty in state cases.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary year, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship –http://epfnational.org/  – has worked to promote peace since Armistice Day 1939.