Bishops among first signatories to pledge to end death penalty

Bishops among first signatories to pledge to end death penalty: Bishops attending a meeting were among the first to sign the National Catholic Pledge to End the Death Penalty at the U.S. bishops

MGB: In the days of monarchy, the king was trusted to execute people who violated the life and property rights of himself and others.  We have since converted property crimes to jail and the role of the king (and his property) has been taken up by all of us.  Therefore, we are responsible when someone is executed and when someone who should have been executed kills again.  Note that putting someone in a cage for the rest of their life is seen as just another form of capital punishment by both the system and those in it.  Given the choice, most chose death to that terrible alternative.  Whether someone should die is not a matter of justice or the offensiveness of the crime, but of danger.  Non-dangerous people should be rehabilitated and released.  Truly dangerous people who cannot be helped must be kept from harming others, which means euthanasia - not as an execution event, but as a simple medical necessity.