Executions could be halted

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could halt executions throughout the country, writes Michael Sean Winters.

The suit stems from recent botched executions in Oklahoma and other states in which the lethal injections did not work, resulting in excruciating pain for the person being executed and horrifying the official observers.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Archbishop Thomas Wenski, respectively chairmen of the Pro-Life Activities and Domestic Policy Committees of the bishops’ conference, issued a statement praising the decision to hear the case and urging jurists to stop all executions. “Our nation has witnessed … how the use of the death penalty devalues human life and diminishes respect for human dignity,” Archbishop Wenski said.