Visiting Kentucky's Death Row

          On the day of posting this blog, November 6, 2019, I am visiting the men on Kentucky’s Death Row at the State Penitentiary in Eddyville along with seven other religious women and one man, representing 6 religious communities. A group of us (Religious Communities Against the Death Penalty) have participated in this annual event almost every year since 1997. Our commitment to this practice began with awareness and the need to witness to the value of all life in opposition to the culture of death pervasive in our society.

           At the present time there are twenty-eight men and one woman under the sentence of death in Kentucky. I rejoiced when I just now checked the list online to see that one man whom we have visited for years has been resentenced. Usually “resentenced” means he is now serving “life without possibility of parole” which certainly satisfies the requirements of justice for him and safety for society. According to the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, ninety-seven persons have been sentenced to death in Kentucky. They report that fifty of those sentences have been reversed on appeal or post-conviction.

          Only three men have been executed since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1976 after a hiatus of several years in which the state tried (but failed) to ensure that it was administered fairly. The last execution was eleven years ago of a man who rejected the appeals to which he was entitled and chose to be executed as soon as possible. Many of us see this as a form of state assisted suicide.

          In 2010 a judge ordered a stay of executions in Kentucky while attorneys argued over, among issues, protocols involving drugs used during lethal injection. This has not yet been resolved and, thankfully, there does not seem to be any motivation for resolution at this time. It is our hope and prayer that Kentucky will soon pass legislation to abolish the death penalty and rely upon the other sentencing options to administer appropriate justice to victims and offenders.

          So today we will pray and visit with some men whom we have known for over twenty years even though we see them only once a year. Some are newcomers; our latest friend came in 2014. Usually twelve to sixteen come over to the chapel/visiting room to be with us. We often celebrate Mass with their regular chaplain; today we are glad to have our own Glenmary Father John Rausch preside. It is an awesome experience to pray with men who so sincerely lay their souls bare to God’s mercy and beg for grace upon all persons they have touched in their lives, especially their victims and all who suffer violence.

         After Mass we sit in twos and threes to share what’s new in our lives, our hopes and concerns for about 30-40 minutes. We have come to know about their families and their backgrounds and to appreciate their personalities and their gifts. They always express their profound gratitude to us for coming the distance and for our letting them know that we love and respect them as our brothers in God’s family. They always remind us, more by their example than their words that, “No one deserves to be judged by the worst thing s/he ever did.”

          Sr. Dorothy Schuette, OSB