A bill proposing that nitrogen gas be included as a method of execution in the state of Arkansas passed both the House and Senate as of March 12 and has been sent to Gov. Sarah Huckabee-Sanders’ desk for her approval — a decision that has Catholics across the state concerned.
According to the bill, “The Division of Correction shall carry out the sentence of death either by intravenous lethal injection of the drug or drugs … in an amount sufficient to cause death or by nitrogen gas.”
The bill was filed by Rep. Jeff Wardlaw after talking with families of the victims killed at the Mad Butcher grocery store shooting in Fordyce in June. Opposition from medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies, along with the shortage of drugs used in lethal injections, have prevented states like Arkansas from carrying out executions. The last execution in Arkansas was in 2017 when the state executed four men.
The bill grew in controversy when the American Veterinary Medical Association considered the gas used in the execution — nitrogen hypoxia — to be unacceptable for euthanizing animals.
“Arkansas lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would enable our state to execute people with nitrogen gas. Adding another method of carrying out the death penalty equates with a desire to kill people who are already incarcerated and no longer pose a threat to society. This is unnecessary and contrary to our faith,” Bishop Taylor wrote in a Feb. 25 letter to Catholics across the state.
Father Phillip Reaves, diocesan director of prison ministry, said that all forms of execution aren’t just controversial; they are evil.
“I agree with Pope Francis’ addition to the catechism which points out that at one time capital punishment was for the protection of society. But with more effective prison facilities, the threat to the public is diminished,” he said.
Father Reaves said the legislature’s hunt for a cheaper, more readily available form of execution is a dangerous line of thinking.
“We know that pharmaceutical companies do not want to be associated with killing people. Making decisions concerning a person’s life based on economics and easier rather than the dignity of a human person and the common good is frightening,” he said. “If the legislators are looking for cheaper, they should do away with the death penalty. Keeping a person in a maximum-security prison for life is less expensive than executing them.”
Burden of death penalty
Catherine Phillips, director of the Respect Life Office for the Diocese of Little Rock, said many Catholics support the death penalty despite identifying as pro-life.
“I know that as pro-life champions, people often say we defend innocent life, and I get it — it’s harder to defend guilty life, but that’s what God did for us. That’s literally the crux of our Catholic faith, of the Christian faith — that Christ died to save us who are guilty from our sins,” she said. “So yes, it’s a matter of faith, but it’s also a matter of building a better world. There are practical reasons for abolishing the death penalty — it’s so expensive, the appeals process takes forever, it’s retraumatizing for the families of the victims, it doesn’t really provide long-lasting peace. … We know that Christ’s promises of hope are better than just putting someone else to death.”
Healing through forgiveness
The eyes of Father Salvador Márquez-Muñoz, pastor of St. Mary Church in Siloam Springs, fill with tears as he recounts his brother’s murder in October 2023.
“A little over a year ago, my family was the victim of the violence going on (in Mexico),” he said. “Our youngest brother was first kidnapped, extorted and then, days later, he was able to identify one of the people that kidnapped him. So, he wanted to take matters into his own hands. The word got out, and a month later, he was kidnapped. For a week, he was tortured and then eventually assassinated — set on fire while alive.”
Father Márquez-Muñoz and his only remaining brother were overwhelmed with grief, but each brother had different ideas about how to find healing.
“My brother wanted to use all the means and power he had to seek revenge. And I said to him, ‘No matter what you do, it will never bring our brother’s life back. You have a spouse, you have children, and these people will come back.’ The only way we can combat evil is through love and for love to help us.
“We need to learn how to forgive from the heart, regardless of how this took place, regardless of who did it,” he said. “Even though you might find out who was behind the whole thing, it would better to pray for these people, for their conversion, and ask God for the healing graces that we need in our lives. Because now we have been victims of this. Our brother was the victim and many other families in this country of ours continue to be victims of this continued. Now we can understand their pain, their suffering.”
Father Salvador Márquez-Muñoz said he understands needing to take a life in self-defense or war. But in cases of revenge, “violence,” he said, “only brings more violence.”
“To me, the death penalty is not the best solution, because it doesn’t bring back our loved ones. It doesn’t bring the closure that we hope to find, and does not fill that void that our loved ones have. Only God can fill that,” he said. “Our Catholic faith has helped us to understand that that is not the end. We are all going to die. Sometimes, we don’t get to choose the way we’re going to die, but we know that there is a life that has no end with God.”
Politicians weigh in
Rep. Aaron Pilkington, a Catholic from Johnson County who represents District 45, told Arkansas Catholic he changed his mind about the bill. He voted present.
“I voted against the bill, but I had originally signed on as a co-sponsor because I thought, ‘Well, this seems like a more humane way to execute someone compared to lethal injection, and if the death penalty is already legal in Arkansas, if we can have some small mercy, then let’s do it.’ Then Sen. (Justin) Boyd (of Fort Smith), who was my sponsor when I became Catholic, was talking to me about it. And he said he talked to Sen. (Clint) Penzo (of Springdale) about it, and Sen. Penzo made a really good point that this would restart executions in Arkansas,” Pilkington said.
“In some ways, we don’t have the death penalty now because we can’t get access to the drugs, and by doing this, we’re essentially restarting it. It was me and Sen. Boyd, and we were driving back that day, and we called probably every member of the Republican Caucus who was Catholic, and we all discussed it. As we all went through and talked about what the Catechism says and what we believe, we all determined that the best course of action was to vote no. So I voted no on it, and so did all of the other Republican Catholics as well.
“I think it was a good demonstration of us talking about our faith and talking about the Catechism and what does it actually say. Maybe our constituents felt different, but ultimately, we knew that we’d stand in front of God one day, and we’d have to answer for what we did. So we all decided to vote no.”
Of 10 other Catholic legislators, all voted against the bill.
Rep. Pilkington said he and other Catholic legislators pray together to help them prepare for their duties as state legislators.
“We do a rosary every Thursday morning, and I think that’s been really good too, just helping us make sure that our faith stays the focus in our mind during the session.”
