USA - Texas. Texas bishops call for abolition of death penalty.

Texas bishops call for abolition of death penalty. "Capital punishment vitiates our hearts' capacity for mercy and love," the Texas bishops said in a statement released by the Texas Catholic Conference in Austin. "The death penalty not only does not correspond to the common good, it actually does great harm to it." The Catholic bishops of Texas Oct. 10 called for the abolition of the death penalty, denouncing its effects not only on victims and others immediately affected, but also on society. "Capital punishment vitiates our hearts' capacity for mercy and love," the bishops said in a statement released by the Texas Catholic Conference in Austin. "The death penalty not only does not correspond to the common good, it actually does great harm to it." The statement, released on the World Day Against the Death Penalty. In their statement, the bishops cited several ways they said carrying out the death penalty inflicts harm: -- Capital punishment "is used disproportionately on the poor, minorities and people with mental disabilities. -- Costs involved in capital punishment cases "are 3 times" that of cases in which the convicted are sentenced to life imprisonment. -- The "finality of death" does not allow for rehabilitation of prisoners, nor does it provide "consolation for victims' families." -- Studies have shown that states have executed innocent people and that crime rates are not affected by a state's use of the death penalty. "The death penalty negatively influences our children's moral formation and our culture as it fails to allow for mercy and redemption," the bishops said. "Our call to abolish the death penalty is not a call to deny justice," they wrote. "On the contrary, it is a call to the whole community to recognize that the death penalty does not fulfill justice, nor does it console the inconsolable."