On December 6, the National Jewish/Catholic Consultation,...

On December 6, the National Jewish/Catholic Consultation, a group co-sponsored by the National Council of Synagogues and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs, issued a joint statement calling for an end to the death penalty. It was issued, the group said, "after an exhaustive study of the collective wisdom and moral insights of Judaism and Roman Catholicism." Representatives of the two traditions said they plan to develop joint educational materials for use in schools and congregations and to work together in local, state, and national anti-death penalty coalitions. The strong appeal by religious leaders to do away with the death sentence may have reverberated with religious conservatives. A plea by Pope John Paul II, a strong death penalty proponent, prompted Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan to commute the sentence of triple murderer Darrel Mease, scheduled to die during the Pope's January visit to St. Louis. In Virginia, Gov. Jim Gilmore commuted the death sentence of a mentally ill man in May, although he had not intervened in previous 21 executions which took place since he took office in 1998. Five clemencies were granted by five different governors in 1999, the most governors to take such action in one year since the death penalty was reinstated.