| State, religious leaders oppose capital punishment BY MELISSA LAUBER UMCONNECTION STAFF  Surrounded by several religious and political leaders, Marylands chief law officer called for the abolition of the death penalty at a press conference in Annapolis Jan. 30. Referring to capital punishment as an intolerable risk that will lead to the execution of innocent people, Maryland Attorney General Joseph Curran Jr. turned up the heat on a debate that has been brewing since Gov. Robert Ehrlich announced he was lifting the states moratorium on the death penalty. Ehrlich said he would judge the validity of death sentences on a case-by-case basis.  We stand at a critical juncture in the troubled history of the death penalty in Maryland, Curran wrote to the governor. With the lifting of the recent moratorium, seven men are now poised to die over the coming months. At the press conference in front of the State House, Curran said, Capital punishment forces us to accept the unacceptable the inevitability of an irreversible mistake that results in an innocent persons death. It requires us to live with the certainty that now and then, despite all the safeguards and post convictions, we will execute the wrong person. According to Curran, 821 people have been executed in the United States since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. During that time, 103 people on death row were exonerated. Standing with Curran was the Rev. Douglas Sands of Simpson-Hamline UMC, chairman of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Committee on Drugs and Violence, and Associate Conference Council of Ministries Director Sandra Ferguson. According to Ferguson, the Baltimore-Washington Conference has been involved in this issue for several years and played a pivotal role in persuading former Gov. Parris Glendening to impose a moratorium on executions in the state until the death penalty had been studied. Results of the University of Maryland/Paternoster Death Sentencing Study, released Jan. 7, concluded that blacks who are convicted of killing whites, particularly in Baltimore County, disproportionately end up on death row. In response to the study, Bishop Felton Edwin May issued a statement that was distributed at the press conference. The United Methodist Social Principles call for Christians to reject the use of the mechanisms of law enforcement for the purpose of revenge, or for persecution or intimidation of those whose race, appearance, lifestyle or economic conditions differ from those in authority. The study clearly shows that black offenders who kill whites are twice as likely to get a death sentence as whites who kill whites, and black offenders who kill whites are four times as likely to get a death sentence as blacks who kill blacks, the bishop wrote. The death penalty denies Christs power to transform and restore all human beings to wholeness, said Bishop May. At the press conference Sands echoed the bishops sentiments to the media and agreed with the attorney general that capital punishment is unworthy of us, and fails to pass for justice in a civilized society. One cannot be a United Methodist no, Ill go you one better: one cannot be a Christian and favor the death penalty, Sands said. Sands said he could agree with Currans proposed alternative to the death penalty life in prison without chance of parole. According to Curran, Life without parole puts people away for the rest of their lives, with no hope or possibility of getting out. Life without parole means death in prison. While this would be an option for those who commit heinous crimes, The United Methodist Church embraces restorative justice that seeks to repair the damage, right the wrong and bring healing to all, said Ferguson. Several pieces of legislation concerning capital punishment are slated to come before the state legislature this winter. Convicted murderer Steven H. Oken is scheduled to die by lethal injection the week of March 17. Ferguson and Sands urged United Methodists to express their views. In the fractured history of the death penalty in Maryland, this is a watershed moment, said Curran. We need to address this head-on. | 
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