Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Edges of Faith

Home

Home
Progressive Christian
#KellyOnMyMind but Is Manuel On My Mind, Too? Problems of our Death Penalty Activism

#KellyOnMyMind but Is Manuel On My Mind, Too? Problems of our Death Penalty Activism

Last updated on: March 11, 2015 at 2:23 am by David Roberts

#KellyOnMyMind but Is Manuel On My Mind, Too? Problems of our Death Penalty Activism 2015-03-11T02:23:38+00:00 David Roberts

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A saint’s scheduled execution was widely protested and decried in Georgia. A sinner’s scheduled execution in Texas was largely ignored.

And history repeats itself.

On Sept. 21, 2011, two men were killed by the state. One man, Troy Davis, was innocent. His execution sparked a massive outcry. The other, Lawrence Russell Brewer, was not at all innocent. No one said a word about his death.

Last week, a massive movement erupted online in an attempt to stop the execution of Kelly Gissendaner in Georgia. Her redemption story grabbed our attention and our devotion. On Wednesday, Manuel Vasquez is scheduled to be killed by the state of Texas, and it seems we couldn’t care less.

Kelly was deemed reformed and worthy. Manuel, apparently, is not.

Manuel, an alleged hitman for the Mexican mafia, was found guilty of brutal, heinous, and excessively violent crimes. He is the first person scheduled for state killing since Kelly was temporarily spared execution last week.

And the difference in Christians’ reactions to both scheduled executions is damning and shameful. Last week, we all had #kellyonmymind, so much so that it started trending and even grabbed the attention of national news outlets. Christians spoke out passionately against her execution. As with Troy Davis, we signed petitions, held vigils, and kept watch at the hour death was scheduled.

But it seems as if Christians weren’t speaking out against the death penalty in general but only against the particular use of it on her as fellow Patheos blogger Erin Wathen noted last week.

The social media silence by Christians this week regarding Manuel’s looming execution speaks volumes about who we really value.

Personally, I am thankful Kelly was spared, even temporarily. It was heartening to see so many Christians speak out against her execution. But it also reveals the problem with death penalty activism and the problem with Christians in general. We were talking about the morality and exceptionalism of individuals, not the immorality of the death penalty itself. We were talking about individual injustices, not the systemic ones that make people of color targets for harsher prison sentences. It is troubling that it takes a person like Kelly or Troy Davis to provoke us into speaking up at all, but in both cases, I’m no longer convinced the outcry was because people believed the death penalty was wrong or immoral, but because they believed it was wrong in those particular cases.

Any movement that relies on moral exemplars more than moral principle is little more than spectacle. If we attempt to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice only when we find a worthy moral exemplar, then our nonviolent version of justice is just as capricious and fickle as the violent, retributive kind the state employs. We are implicitly justifying the majority of state killings in this country not just with our silence but with our flash-in-the-pan advocacy of worthy individuals.

And so history repeats itself. A moral exemplar in Georgia is deemed worthy to be saved while we sit silently as an unworthy sinner goes to his execution in Texas.

Manuel Vasquez will die Wednesday night at 6 p.m.

I doubt there will be a massive outcry by clergy and other Christians for Texas to spare him.

I doubt there will be famous theologians speaking out passionately in his defense.

I doubt there will be hashtag movements that trend.

I doubt there will be very many people who have Manuel on their minds come Wednesday night when he dies.

So until we can say killing people is wrong regardless of whether people are guilty of their crimes, state executions will continue.

Until we can say killing people is wrong regardless of whether they are remorseful or reformed, state executions will not be abolished.

Until we can say #ManuelOnMyMind with the same ferocity with which we said #KellyOnMyMind, the state will keep on killing. Killing in our names and on our behalf.

Politics

Reflection

Previous Post

March 8, 2015

BREAKING NEWS: Protests Turn Violent in Jerusalem

Next Post

March 12, 2015 Unholey Donuts, John 3:16, and the Condemnation of God (Homily for Lent 4B)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Black Lives Matter Christian Calendar Daily Office Essay Fiction Film homily Humor Lectionary Lenten Meditations Living Faith Meditation Ministry Parable Parenting Poem Politics Pop Culture Reflection Satire Sketch Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Paul say in Philemon he would have liked to keep Onesimus to do?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Serve in the church Preach the word Help him while he is in chains for the gospel Care for the poor