Opposition to capital punishment.

The Episcopal Church officially opposes any and all death penalties. Our opposition is both moral and practical. There are many gospel points that can be raised. For example, Jesus prevented the lawful death by stoning of the woman caught in adultery. The practical points are the high costs of execution as compared to life sentences and the built-in racial and economic injustices of our legal system. A study of the California experience with death penalties has an execution costing 18 times as much as a life sentence without parole. Another more fundamental objection is the psychic damage it does to our community. Keep in mind that America has a long and ugly history of lynchings that we have only partially repented of. Our history of celebrating executions in a circus-like atmosphere is disgraceful. (The last public execution drew a crowd of over 20,000). Even more disturbing is the near-religious ceremony with which we perform the executions. The last meal. The last mile. The preacher's words of comfort. This is a human sacrifice to the Gods of Vengeance. I really wish America was better than this.