FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2004
Contact Information:
Edward C. Monahan, Executive Director Rev. Patrick Delahanty, Associate Director
Office: (502)875-4345 Office: (502)875-4345
KY BISHOPS SADDENED BY SIGNING OF DEATH WARRANT
FRANKFORT — The Roman Catholic Bishops of Kentucky are deeply saddened by the decision of
Govemor Emie Fletcher to sign the death warrant for Mr. Bowling.
Ina meeting on October 18, 2004 Kentucky's Catholic Bishops asked Governor Fletcher to commute
Thomas Bowling’s sentence of death to life without parole. The Bishops proclaimed the sacredness not
only of innocent life, but even of the life of the guilty.
In the letter to Governor Fletcher that followed the meeting the Bishops said, “God’s justice is not blind.
It is imbued with mercy. We ask that you, as a man of faith and as a moral leader in Kentucky, provide
mercy to Thomas Bowling.”
The Bishops added their voices to the prophetic witness of Pope John Paul II who, when he last visited
our nation, appealed for an end to capital punishment: “The new evangelization calls for followers of
Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every
situation. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken
away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modem society has the means of protecting
itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform (cf. Evangelium Vitae, no. 27). I renew
the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel
and unnecessary.”
Kentuckians increasingly oppose the death penalty. A significant shift of opinion has occurred in
Kentucky over the last 15 years as demonstrated by the “2001 Attitudes Toward the Death Penalty in
Kentucky: A Comparison of Survey Results-1989, 1997, 1999” published in Kentucky Justice and Safety
Research Bulletin. Today, the majority of Kentuckians prefer a sentence of life without parole to a
sentence of death.
The Governor has promoted a Culture of Life in his work to eliminate abortion, preclude cloning, prevent
embryonic stem cell research, and by his signing into law the fetal homicide bill that holds accountable
those who would kill the unborn, and shows further respect for life by forbidding the death sentence when
fetal homicide is proven. Signing the death warrant in our view undermines the Culture of Life.
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The Catholic Conference of KY is an agency of the Catholic Bishops, established in 1983. It speaks for the Church
in matters of public policy, serves as liaison to government and the legislature, and coordinates communications
and activities between the church and secular agencies. The Bishops of the four dioceses of KY constitute its Board
of Directors.
