By Vanguard Staff
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – More than two dozen Arkansas faith leaders are urging Governor Sarah Sanders not to restart executions in the state, raising concerns about the use of gas asphyxiation and calling the practice “torture.”
In a letter sent August 21, the clergy members warned against the proposed method of gas suffocation, whether by mask or chamber, and pointed to recent scientific studies and eyewitness accounts of gas executions. They asked Sanders to investigate those findings before moving forward.
“Arkansas has the means of keeping society safe without violating the inherent human dignity of every person,” the letter said. The leaders wrote that instead of focusing on punishment, the state should expand emotional and financial support for victims and invest in programs that prevent crime.
They argued that capital punishment “denies an opportunity for redemption and healing, and drains resources that could be better used serving all victims and preventing crime in the first place.” According to the letter, funding would be better directed toward preventing child abuse, providing mental health and substance abuse treatment, and investing in community safety programs.
The signatories described their opposition as part of a faith-based commitment to a “humane vision” of justice. “Our call not to restart executions in our state is an expression of our desire to uphold a humane vision of seeking safety through acknowledging harm, repairing the harm as able, and changing society so the harm can’t happen again,” they wrote.
They added that executions are incompatible with their religious values. “Like many of Arkansas’s civil leaders who share our values, we long to see the mercy, compassion, equity, and justice of God reflected in public policies that promote safety, human dignity, and healing for all our citizens,” the letter said.
The faith leaders concluded by urging Sanders to “continue to recognize the value of every human life,” and warned that execution by gas suffocation is “at odds with recognizing the inherent human dignity in every person.”
The letter was signed by a broad coalition of Arkansas clergy, including Catholic bishops, Episcopal and Methodist priests, Baptist pastors, Presbyterian ministers, Buddhist leaders, and Unitarian Universalist clergy.
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