In Opposition to SJR 124 & HJR 951
(A Joint Letter from the Florida Council of Churches and the Florida Catholic Conference)

Florida Council of Churches                                                             Florida Catholic Conference
924 North Magnolia Avenue, Suite 304                                                                                              313 S. Calhoun Street
Orlando, FL 32803                                                                                                                  Tallahassee, FL 32301-1807
407-839-3454                                                                                                                                              850-222-3803
www.floridachurches.org                                                                                                                 www.flacathconf.org

March 15, 2001 

In Opposition to SJR 124 & HJR 951

Dear President McKay and Speaker Feeney:

   The Florida Council of Churches and the Florida Catholic Conference join in expressing opposition to Senate Joint Resolution 124 and House Joint Resolution 951, which seek to elevate the Death Penalty to the Florida Constitution. The Council and the Conference, advocates of dignity and respect for all human life, have each issued statements in opposition to the Death Penalty, and have issued joint statements on two occasions seeking its review and cessation.

   This proposal comes at a time when thousands of Floridians have submitted petitions for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. We are troubled by analysts’ claims that this amendment will allow executions of juveniles, that it will impede the ability to assess proportionality in sentencing, and will modify our Constitution’s limitation on punishment over the entire criminal code, not just the Death Penalty.

   There is no need to enshrine the Death Penalty in the Constitution. Florida is today executing people in keeping with the existing Constitution, and sentencing more to death each year. At the same time, more Florida inmates have been exonerated after long terms on death row than any other state in the country.

   Under Florida law, in accordance with today's Constitution, there are two options for sentencing a person convicted of first degree murder: a death sentence, or life imprisonment without parole. The latter optional punishment is not mentioned in the proposed amendment, yet it is far more acceptable to Floridians than the death penalty.

   Death Penalty practice in Florida tolerates questions of racial bias, allows for the execution of the mentally retarded, for the ability of a jury to vote for the death penalty by 7-5 verdict, and for the ability of a judge to override a jury verdict of life imprisonment. Procedural bars often prevent later discovered evidence and refined DNA science that could prove an inmate’s innocence, with potentially terrible consequences.

   The European Union, the United Nations, Amnesty International and other international bodies have condemned the Death Penalty. Our nation stands out against the Western World which has abandoned its use. Pope John Paul II has appealed for specific Florida inmates, who were later executed, and has called for a consensus against the use of the Death Penalty. Many of the constituencies of the Florida Council of Churches have likewise done so.

   Respectfully we submit the need for a moratorium on the Death Penalty, to study its many faults. We urge the rejection of SJR 124/HJR 951.

                                                                                   Respectfully,

                                            The Reverend Fred Morris                    D. Michael McCarron, Ph.D.
                                            Executive Director                                 Executive Director
                                            Florida Council of Churches                  Florida Catholic Conference

FM-DMMc:cs
cc: All Members of the Florida Senate and Florida House of Representatives

Members of The Florida Council of Churches: African Methodist Episcopal African Methodist Episcopal Zion American Catholic Church Catholic Church of the Antiochean Rite Central Florida Presbytery Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Church of the Brethren Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida Episcopal Diocese of Florida Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Florida Fellowship of Community Churches Florida General Baptist Convention Florida Presbytery Moravian Church Phillppine Independent Catholic Church Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Presbytery of St. Augustine Presbytery of Tropical Florida Presbytery of Tampa Bay Peace River Presbytery Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Southeastern Yearly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends United Church of Christ United Methodist Church
Affiliated Agencies: Church World Service Church Women United Farmworkers Ministry Florida Coalition Against the Death Penalty Florida Impact Lutheran Ministries FIND (Florida Interfaith Networking in Disaster)

Florida Catholic Conference: Archbishop John C. Favalora, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami Bishop John J. Snyder, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine Bishop Robert N. Lynch, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg Bishop Norbert M. Dorsey, C.P., Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando Bishop John H. Ricard, S.S.J., Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola/Tallahassee Bishop Anthony J. O’Connell, Bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach Bishop John J. Nevins, Bishop of the Diocese of Venice Bishop Agustin A. Roman, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami Bishop Gilberto Fernandez, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of  Miami Bishop Thomas A. Wenski, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami