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| In partnership with the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty |
CTUCC Resolutions on Capital Punishment |
Since 1973, the Connecticut Conference has publicly opposed the death penalty in the state and in the nation. Annual Meeting delegates have twice voted resolutions calling for its abolition, and in 2005 the Missionary Society of Connecticut sued the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, which had failed to establish procedures for commutation hearings in death penalty cases.
In 2009, the Conference asked members and clergy to call their state legislators and Governor M. Jodi Rell to support an end to capital punishment, resulting in the first death penalty abolition bill to be passed by the General Assembly and presented to the Governor. Only a gubernatorial veto prevented the end to executions in Connecticut.
"Human life is cheapened for all of us when we turn our backs on Jesus' teaching and sociological facts concerning the death penalty," said Interim Conference Minister the Rev. Charles L. Wildman. "For the well-being of our families, communities and ourselves, prayer and clear thinking must finally govern our decision on the death penalty -- and hopefully lead us to express our views to elected officials and work with the growing effort in our state to influence the outcome of the next votes."
The resources on this page are tools in the effort to end the death penalty in Connecticut, in the United States, and eventually throughout the world.
