Logout
Oct. 10 is the World Day Against the Death Penalty. Since October 2025, the ELCA, in partnership with synods and ELCA-affiliated state public policy offices, has sent letters to the governors of states with scheduled executions, asking them to intervene, grant clemency and work to end the death penalty. This action is grounded in ELCA social teaching about restorative justice, ministry among those impacted by social brokenness, and efforts to end the enduring injustices and discriminatory application long embedded in the capital punishment system.
“It is because of this church’s ministry with and to people affected by violent crime that we oppose the death penalty,” reads the ELCA social statement “The Death Penalty.” “Executions focus on the convicted murderer, providing very little for the victim’s family or anyone else whose life has been touched by the crime. Capital punishment focuses on retribution, sometimes reflecting a spirit of vengeance. Executions do not restore broken society and can actually work counter to restoration” (page 3.).
The letters give public expression to the ELCA’s theological grounding for opposition to the death penalty and embody this church’s ongoing commitment to public witness. Through affirming core theological values, including human dignity, mercy and forgiveness, the ELCA is well-positioned to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. As a result of such advocacy, governors around the country have granted stays, reprieves and clemency to individuals or refused to use the death penalty in their state, often emphasizing the shared Christian commitment to love and forgiveness.
As the death penalty sees a resurgence, the ELCA remains committed to ending the use of capital punishment and to seeking clemency for those sentenced to death. Bipartisan opposition to the practice has grown and public support for the death penalty has declined over the past half century.
ELCA Witness in Society letter signers have included bishops of the Arkansas-Oklahoma, Florida-Bahamas, Grand Canyon, Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana, Pacifica, Rocky Mountain, Sierra Pacific, South Carolina, Southeastern, Southwest California, Southwestern Texas and Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast synods.
After a Tennessee death row inmate survived two lethal injections intended to execute her on Sept. 30, Kevin Strickland, bishop of the Southeastern Synod, along with bishops of the Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church, wrote to the governor of Tennessee urging that “justice need not become vengeance and that the State of Tennessee can choose restraint, human dignity, and mercy.”
Two tools in the ELCA Action Center can help you to use your voice on this issue. If your state still utilizes capital punishment (find out here), one tool facilitates writing a letter to your governor urging them to work toward ending the death penalty. Another focuses on advocating for the abolition of the federal death penalty.
