Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has denounced an effort to restore the death penalty in the state.“I find it blasphemous that the state wants to take a human life,” the archbishop said, speaking at a press conference held by opponents of capital punishment.
The archbishop joined other civic leaders in speaking out against the death penalty after Republican members of the state’s House of Representatives pushed through a measure to reintroduce capital punishment during a late-night session.
The initiative failed when the state Senate declined to act on the proposal, and the legislature adjourned.
The topic is likely to provoke heated debates when the state legislature meets again in January.