The
COURIER
Baptism of the Lord January 9
January 2017
Death Penalty
www.dowcourier.org
Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona, MN
Decline Diocese
Is 2016 Saw Fewest Executions in 25 Years Compliant with Charter
on the
WASHINGTON D.C., Jan. 6, 2017 (CNA/EWTN News) - The year 2016 marked a major decline in the number of executions and sentences to capital punishment in the United States, a new report says. Last year there were 20 executions in the U.S., the lowest level in 25 years. The peak was in 1999, when 98 persons were executed. Thirty death sentences were imposed in 2016, the lowest since the death penalty was reinstated in 1973. In 1996, death penalty sentences peaked at 315. “America is in the midst of a major climate change concerning capital punishment. While there may be fits and starts and occasional steps backward, the long-term trend remains clear,” Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said Dec. 16. “Whether it’s concerns about innocence, costs, and discrimination; availability of life without parole as a safe alternative; or the questionable way in which states are attempting to carry out executions; the public grows increasingly uncomfortable with the death penalty each year,” Dunham said. Georgia had nine executions, Texas seven, Alabama two, and one each in Missouri and Florida, the report from the Death Penalty Information Center said. The report charged that those executed in 2016 largely represented defendants with mental health problems, inadequate legal representation, or insufficient judicial review. Sixty percent of the 20 people executed last year showed “significant evidence” of mental illness, brain impairment or low intellectual functioning. The popularity of the death penalty also hit new lows. The Pew Research Center found that 49 percent of Americans favored capital punishment for convicted murderers, an apparent oneyear drop of seven percentage points, and down from a peak of 80 percent in 1995. About 42 of Americans said they opposed it, according to a 2016 poll. Voters in three states voted to retain the death penalty or place it
WINONA - The Diocese of Winona has been found compliant with the data collection requirements for the 2015-16 audit period of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a comprehensive set of procedures established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors within the Church. Since its creation in 2002, the charter has caused more than 30,000 background checks to be run on clergy, employees and volunteers. For a diocese to maintain compliance, all of its priests, religious, deacons, diaconate candidates, teachers, school employees, Church employees and volunteers who have any contact with children, young adults or vulnerable adults, must submit to background checks every five years. In addition to background checks, Church employees and volunteers Charter, cont'd on pg. 4
Death Penalty, cont'd on pg. 14
INSIDE this issue
Pope Renews "Zero Tolerance" Abuse Policy page 2
The Dangers of Spiritualizing Psychological Problems page 5
A Time for Peace page 6