By Katie McKeown, MT Abolition Coalition Organizer
Montana Catholic Conference

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Montana State Senate Judiciary committee will have the first hearing on a bill meant to abolish Montana’s death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life with no chance of parole. As in the past, Montana’s Catholics will be a leading voice in this call to end capital punishment.

Over the past year, members of the Catholic community have hosted and attended many death penalty educational events. Film screenings, discussion groups, letter-writing parties, youth presentations and speaking events have focused on spreading the word about this important issue.

The campaign to increase death penalty awareness culminated last October, when numerous Catholic parishes and organizations across the state joined other churches and community groups in hosting death-row inmates who have been exonerated, murder victims’ family members and death-row inmates’ family members. In this tour, called the Journey of Hope, the speakers visited more than 50 communities in Montana to share their personal experiences with the downfalls of the death penalty system.

Just as the Journey of Hope event could not have been a success without the support of the Catholic community, so the abolition bill itself will not succeed without the contribution of Catholic voices.

Now is the time to contact your legislator to let him or her know that you support the promotion of a true pro-life culture in this state. Call, write a letter or attend the hearing to give your legislators the support they need to end the death penalty in Montana once and for all.

For more details about ways to make your voice heard, contact the Montana Catholic Conference at 442-5761.


Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 25, No. 1, January 23, 2009.