"The idea that someone could be Christian and for the death penalty, it’s the very opposite of what Jesus stood for." January 18, 2011 Sister Helen Prejean author of Dead Man Walking
Houston is the Death Penalty Capital of the Western World (PROUDLY claiming 281 sentenced since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976). The "Western" means "China" which is the only country that surpasses us. We are Number 2! We are Number 2!
The musical version of DEAD MAN WALKING premiered recently here in Houston. It brought capital punishment opponent Sister Helen Prejean to town who with 7 religious leaders held a public forum at our fine arts auditorium the opera is playing at to denounce capital punishment. Houston religious leaders pledged to fight death penalty.
The article from the Houston Chronicle said, "Seven of Houston’s best-known religious leaders publicly pledged to fight the death penalty." The top Catholic, Galveston Bishop Daniel DiNardo is the only name I recognized. The other six BEST KNOWN mentions are Mike Cole (New Covenant Presberty), Bishop Janice Riggle Huie (Texas Methodist Church Conference), Rabbi David Lyon (Congregation Beth Israel),Bishop Mike Reinhart (Texas-Louisana Gulf Coast Synod), Rev. Harvey Clemons Jr (Pleasant Hill Baptist Church) and Rev. Daniel Melendez (Pastors in Action). You can easily tell by the names, sex, and churches that these are not the mainstream churches here in Houston.
Houston has three of the top ten mega churches in America, none of which were represented. The Catholic presence is indeed noteworthy as the Houston population of Hispanics is large at about 30%. But I bet you could take the membership of all the others combined and not fill half the Sunday gathering of Lakewood Church with evangelical pastor Joel Osteen, who was no where near any crap about opposing executions.
There is some good news in that since 2005 Texas juries have been sending less humans to the executioner. Only 8 in 2010.
But now with the Texas legislature having 102 Republicans out of 150 members (over the two thirds needed to rewrite the Texas constitution at their whim), Republicans in total control of every state wide office, and every justice of the Texas Supreme Court being Republicans, things do not look very bright down here in Dumbutt for much of anything merciful, compassionate, kindly or gentle concerning anything or anyone other than oil executives and Tom DeLay.