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

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News
The Tragedy of Carl Buntion: Dr. Barbara Laubenthal & The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood on The Movement to Abolish the Death Penalty, Melissa Lucio & Indifference to an Execution

The Tragedy of Carl Buntion: Dr. Barbara Laubenthal & The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood on The Movement to Abolish the Death Penalty, Melissa Lucio & Indifference to an Execution

Last updated on: May 3, 2022 at 7:29 pm by Jeff Hood

The Tragedy of Carl Buntion: Dr. Barbara Laubenthal & The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood on The Movement to Abolish the Death Penalty, Melissa Lucio & Indifference to an Execution 2022-05-03T19:29:30-06:00 Jeff Hood

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.

On June 27, 1990, Carl Buntion killed of Houston Police Officer James Irby. There is no denying this fact. For his crime, Buntion was sentenced to death. After waiting almost 32 years in prison, Buntion was executed. This is a short analysis by Buntion’s dear friend, Dr. Barbara Laubenthal and national death row spiritual advisor, Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood on the tragedy of Buntion’s final days.

Indifference might be the greatest of all evils. In the face of tragedy, the human experience seems to demand that we feel something. In the case of Carl Buntion…for many…there was nothing. In fact…in the State of Texas…executions have become so routine that most people don’t even notice. We guess in a State where killing has become so common one might expect such indifference. But, when indifference comes from fellow activists…the tragedy is made all the more tragic.

Let there be no doubt, that we are overjoyed that Melissa Lucio received a stay of execution and hope that she will be free very soon. This article is less about Melissa Lucio and more about the culture of death penalty activism that far too often prioritizes some cases over others…sometimes even at the expense of others.

In his final days, Carl Buntion regularly prayed for Melissa Lucio. Unfortunately, to some extent he was left to wonder if anybody was praying for him. You see, when one death penalty case is prioritized of other cases…there is a spiritual tragedy that plays out. Can you imagine sitting in a cell knowing that everybody is praying about someone else’s case when you are about to be executed? It would be very easy to think that one has been abandoned by God when everyone is claiming God for someone else. Just last week, one wouldn’t have had to search social media too long to have seen that the prayers for Melissa Lucio far outweighed the prayers for Carl Buntion. This is a tragedy.

In is final days, Carl Buntion believed that Melissa Lucio shouldn’t be executed. Unfortunately, he was left to wonder how many people held the same beliefs about him. The campaign around Lucio was based around a declaration of innocence. Buntion was guilty. Does this mean his case mattered less? Multiple commentators on social media seemed to think so. We can’t end the death penalty by prioritizing claims of innocence…abolition will only happen when our priority is prioritizing the lives of all people. Our demands for the lives of those on death row should never be conditioned on innocence. Doing so devalues human life and hurts the cases of those who are not innocent. This is a tragedy.

In his final days, Carl Buntion often spoke about his concern for the family of his victim, James Irby. By prioritizing one case over all other, tremendous indifference is shown to the victims in all the other cases. The failure of individual campaign models of activism are that they don’t foster a holistic approach to all of these cases. This is a tragedy.

In his final days, Carl Buntion dreamed of a day when the death penalty would be no more. Multiple people have argued that the case of Melissa Lucio has brought new people into the movement to abolish the death penalty. If the attention paid to the execution of Carl Buntion…in the literal dead middle of the campaign to free Lucio is any indicator…such a statement could not be further from the truth. This is a tragedy.

Campaigns that prioritize one human life over another are always going to end in tragedy. Carl Buntion’s dead body is a direct testament to such a fact. So, is Carl Buntion a collateral victim of the campaign to save the life of Melissa Lucio? We don’t know for sure. But we do know one thing for certain…Buntion is certainly not a survivor of it.

Dr. Barbara Laubenthal, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin & Founder, Capital Punishment and Social Rights Research Initiative

The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, Dean & The Rev. Charles Moore Professor of Prophetic Theology, The New Theology School & Spiritual Advisor, Convener of Clergy United Against the Death Penalty

Dr. Barbara Laubenthal

Free Melissa Lucio

Indifference to an Execution

Melissa Lucio

penalty

The Movement to Abolish the Death Penalty

The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood

The Tragedy of Carl Buntion

Previous Post

April 26, 2022

0

Next Post

April 30, 2022 A Tale of Two Pictures: An Interaction with Carman Deck, Scheduled to Be Executed in Missouri on May 3, 2022

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Danny & Jeff fresh writings latest poetics north texas fellowship of reconciliation Sermon theology from death row Thoughts Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 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 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Tamar" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Palm tree My delight The Lord is my refuge Daughter of the King