In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus signals His opposition to the death penalty

As the Church's liturgical readings recall Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery, the Director of the US-based Catholic Mobilizing Network explores the Lord’s rejection of capital punishment.

This Sunday’s Gospel reading for Year C describes the event traditionally called the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). My friends have helped to give it new relevance for me this year.

In our work at Catholic Mobilizing Network, we strive to end the death penalty, advance justice, and begin healing.

From the start, we have learned from the witness of those individuals who have been personally impacted by the scourge of capital punishment. I have the honor of working with people like Syl and Vicki Schieber, who responded to the murder of their daughter by working to abolish capital punishment and uphold the dignity of every human person.

The Schiebers, nearly in their 80’s now, have often shared with me how they have never heard a homily that relates this story of the woman caught in adultery to the death penalty. Yet, for these deeply faithful murder victim family members, it is glaringly apparent.

A former Catholic social justice teacher and friend from my local parish, Tom Faletti, shared with me such a take on this week’s Gospel passage.

In John 8:1-11, the central characters, other than Jesus, are the scribes and Pharisees. They initiate the action. Drawing on the Law of Moses (Deut. 22:22-24), they ask Jesus whether a woman caught in adultery should be executed by stoning. John 18:31 tells us that the Romans did not allow Jewish leaders to execute people.

Jesus avoids their trap, saying, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7b, NABRE).

Since we don’t stone people in our day, we miss the import of His words. We use the phrase “throwing stones” as a metaphor for casting criticism or judgment.

Although Jesus often used metaphors, here the phrase is not just a metaphor. The discussion is about capital punishment. Jesus is being asked whether real stones should be used to literally execute the woman. He answers by saying that there is only one kind of person authorized to literally pick up a stone and hurl it at the woman to kill her: one who is sinless.

To fully appreciate the meaning of Jesus’s words, it helps to translate them into the language of modern-day executions. Modern governments don’t execute people by stoning. They inject people with a deadly drug, or poison with lethal gas, or kill with the bullets of a firing squad.

If we apply Jesus’s words to our modern context, He is saying:

- “Let the one who is without sin administer the deadly drug.”

- “Let the one who is without sin release the poisonous gas.”

- “Let the one who is without sin pull the trigger of the gun.”

This helps us see how the story relates to the death penalty.

The background in the Law of Moses makes it even clearer. According to the Law, two witnesses are required to establish guilt (Deut. 17:6 and 19:15). Those witnesses must be the first to cast the stones of execution (Deut. 17:7), and if they testify falsely, they must receive the penalty that would have been administered to the accused (Deut. 19:16-19).

Because John 8:1-11 is about men seeking to impose the death penalty, we are led to ask: Where is the man with whom the woman committed the act of adultery? Where are the witnesses ready to cast the first stones of execution or die if they are lying?

Jesus recognizes the trap of the situation. His response is that only a sinless person has the authority to execute another person.

When the men have left, Jesus asks the woman, “Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10b)– i.e., has no one condemned you to death?

“No one,” she says (John 8:11a).

Jesus, who is sinless, rejects the death penalty for the woman: “Neither do I condemn you” (John 8:11b).

None of us are sinless, so there is only one, inescapable conclusion. Do we have the right to impose the death penalty on other people? In John 8:1-11, Jesus gives a clear answer: No, we do not. Even He, the Sinless One, rejects the death penalty.

This story is often described as merely a story about a sinful woman — but it is much more than that.

As my dear friends have pointed out to me, this is a story about Jesus who, when confronted with the opportunity to support the death penalty, refused to do so.

The Church has embraced Jesus’s approach and chosen to reject the death penalty, in light of Jesus’s teachings and Catholic social teaching.

“The Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,’ and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.” (CCC 2267)

May our faithful education, catechesis, and formation efforts proclaim the defense of life and human dignity at every age and every stage—and include ending the death penalty.

And thank God for friends that bear witness to Jesus’ reconciling way and lift up the Gospel’s more perfect vision of justice.

Source: vaticannews.va, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, April 4, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Comments

Alabama | Gov. Ivey commutes Charles “Sonny” Burton’s death sentence

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, who was set to be executed Thursday. The governor’s office released the following statement: “Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced that she has commuted the death sentence of Charles L. Burton to life in prison with no chance of parole. Mr. Burton was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1991 capital murder of Doug Battle in Talladega, Alabama. As required by law, the governor first reached out to a representative of Mr. Battle’s family. She also notified the attorney general. Governor Ivey’s letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm is attached.

Maldives | Death penalty law for drug trafficking now in effect

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

Texas executes Cedric Ricks

A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution. Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.

Missouri Man Said DNA Test Could Prove Innocence. He Was Executed Before a Court Ruled.

Lance Shockley died by lethal injection last year. State courts have rejected prisoners’ requests for DNA testing in recent years. Lance Shockley, a man on death row in Missouri, wanted items from the crime scene to undergo DNA testing to potentially prove his innocence. The court scheduled proceedings on his request — but the date set was for two days after his execution. Patty Prewitt can’t have her DNA tested — and fully clear her name — because her sentence was commuted and she is no longer in prison. And others, including Lamar McVay, who is serving 30 years for a robbery, can’t even get an answer from the state on his DNA testing request. He's still awaiting a ruling on a motion he filed in September 2022.

Supreme Court Denies Alabama Appeal, Allowing New Trial in Death Row Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a new trial for one of Alabama’s longest-serving people on death row after declining to review a lower court ruling that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors. According to an article written by the Associated Press, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in Alabama might receive a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that prosecutors had violated his rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors. According to the article, on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision paved the way for Michael Sockwell, the 63-year-old death row inmate, to receive a new trial.

Alabama | Death row inmate granted clemency shares emotional message on day he was set to die

Alabama governor commuted death sentence of Charles Burton, 75, who didn't kill anyone An Alabama man who was outside a building when a man was killed in an armed robbery is looking at life as "a gift from God" after being granted clemency by the state’s governor just days before he was scheduled to be executed. Charles "Sonny" Burton, 75, was sentenced to death for his role in the robbery of a Talladega AutoZone store that left a man dead in 1991. While Burton left the store before Derrick DeBruce gunned down customer Doug Battle, he was tried and convicted as an accomplice, with prosecutors insisting Burton acted as the group’s leader in the armed robbery.

U.S. | These States Don’t Want You to See the Cruelty of Their Executions

The use of the death penalty has risen sharply in the United States, with more executions in 2025 than any year since 2009. It is a cruel and unjust development. In theory, the death penalty is reserved for “the worst of the worst.” In practice, it is very different. People who are executed for their crimes are disproportionately poor or intellectually disabled and often lacked good lawyers. They are also more likely to be sentenced to death if they have been convicted of killing a white person. Anthony Boyd, who maintained his innocence until Alabama executed him last year at age 54, had an inexperienced court-appointed lawyer and was convicted on disputed eyewitness testimony. Charles Flores, 56, has spent 27 years on death row in Texas for a murder conviction based solely on unreliable testimony from a hypnotized witness. Robert Roberson, who has autism, remains on death row there despite having been convicted on now-debunked evidence that he had shaken his daughter to death.

Prosecutors seek death penalty in 2 Georgia cases

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks is set to be killed on March 11 Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” The Tarrant County jury was unmoved. Ricks has spent the last 13 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on March 11.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog