USA - Louisiana. More than 100 religious leaders have signed an amicus brief objecting Dale Cox's "misinterpretation and misuse" of the Bible

More than 100 religious leaders have signed an amicus — or friend of the court — brief objecting to what they say is Dale Cox's "misinterpretation and misuse" of the Bible to successfully argue for the death penalty for Rodricus Crawford. Cow, 67, White, Catholic, is Caddo Parish District Attorney. The brief will be filed with the Louisiana Supreme Court. Crawford, 27, Black, was convicted of killing his 1-year-old son, Roderius Lott. Crawford claims his son had been sleeping next to him, and was unresponsive when, on February 16, 2012, Crawford awoke in the morning. When police arrived, they asked about a bruise on the infant's lip. Crawford replied that his son had fallen in the bathroom the day before. James Traylor, a police pathologist, determined that the bruise on the infant's lip indicated smothering and other bruises indicated child abuse. District attorney Dale Cox charged Crawford with homicide, and asked for the death penalty. Crawford was sentenced to death in November 2013. An appeal is pending before the Louisiana Supreme Court. In the brief, Cox is accused of misquoting scripture. He is also accused of injecting his own personal religious opinions into the case and violating Crawford's constitutional rights to a fair and impartial trial. The ministers, bishops, rabbis, priests, other ordained clergy and religious leaders signed the brief to bring to the court's attention two instances in which they say Cox wrongfully used the Bible as the state's justification to execute Crawford. The first arose during Cox's cross-examination of the Rev. John Dent Sr. during the penalty phase of the trial. The defense had called Dent to the stand to speak as a character witness. Under cross examination, Cox asked the pastor if he agreed that scripture attributed to Jesus Christ means "an earthly life would be terminated for harming a child." Dent did not agree with Cox's interpretation, the brief says. In a second instance, Cox quoted the scripture again at the end of the penalty phase of the trial when the jury is asked to decide between life in prison or death. "He (Jesus Christ) said, to the adult, who would harm one of these, 'one of these' referring to small children, Woe be unto you, who would harm on of these,'" the brief quotes Cox as saying. "Now, this is the Jesus Christ of the New Testament. 'It would be better if though you were never born. You shall have a millstone cast around your neck and you will be thrown into the sea.'" Lawyers and religious leaders will host a news conference at 10 a.m. Oct. 19. on the steps of the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans. Mr. Cox secured more than a third of Louisiana’s death sentences over the last five years. He has lately become one of the country’s bluntest spokesmen for the death penalty. He has readily accepted invitations from reporters to explain whether he really meant what he said to The Shreveport Times in March: that capital punishment is primarily and rightly about revenge and that the state needs to “kill more people.” Yes, he really meant it. And he has been willing to recount his personal transformation from an opponent of capital punishment, a belief grounded in his Catholic faith, to one of the more prolific seekers of the death penalty in the nation. Cox did not immediately return calls seeking comment for this story.