Washington: Catholic leaders and advocacy groups have strongly criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to impose the death penalty on anyone convicted of murder in the nation’s capital. The Catholic Mobilizing Network, a leading organization aligned with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the plan represents a deeply flawed approach to addressing violence.
Trump, speaking earlier this week, declared, “If someone kills someone in the capital, Washington, D.C., we will demand the death penalty, and that is a very strong deterrent, and everyone who has heard it agrees.” His remarks immediately drew backlash from Catholic advocates who maintain that capital punishment contradicts both moral teaching and practical solutions to crime.
Christian Vaillancourt Murphy, president of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, told the Catholic News Agency that while Washington, D.C. like many American cities struggles with crime, equating justice with execution is misguided. “The suggestion that the death penalty is the answer to violence is the most wrong approach,” she said, stressing that capital punishment fails to deliver real safety or deterrence.
The Catholic Mobilizing Network has long championed alternatives to the death penalty, focusing instead on rehabilitation, restorative justice, and respect for human dignity.
The Catholic Church has consistently hardened its stance against executions. In 2018, Pope Francis directed the Catechism of the Catholic Church to be revised, declaring that the death penalty is “inadmissible under all circumstances” because it constitutes an attack on the sanctity of human life.
For the Church, opposition to capital punishment is not merely a legal or political stance but a moral conviction rooted in the Gospel. As Catholic leaders emphasize, even those convicted of grave crimes retain their inviolable dignity as persons.
The debate comes as Washington, D.C. grapples with rising concerns over violent crime, an issue often politicized in national campaigns. Trump’s proposal appeals to hardline law-and-order supporters but faces resistance from faith-based communities, human rights groups, and legal experts who question both its effectiveness and constitutionality.
Catholic leaders argue that expanding executions will not resolve systemic issues but instead deepen cycles of violence. As Murphy put it, “We cannot end violence with more violence. Our response must be rooted in human dignity, justice, and mercy.”