GREENWOOD — There is no such thing as a tolerable murder. They are all terrible, traumatic and painful for those who knew the victims.
But some murders are more heinous than others. Such is the case with the murder last week in Durant of two nuns who had devoted themselves to helping the poor and the sick of Holmes County.
It is inconceivable why anyone would do harm to Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill. They not only provided spiritual sustenance to the small Catholic community around Lexington but, as nurse practitioners, rendered medical care to people of all faiths who otherwise could not have afforded it. It is estimated that 25 percent of the population in Holmes County used the two sisters as their primary care providers.
Those who knew the sisters, and some who are only hearing of their good work now, are shocked and angry about their deaths. They think that if Rodney Earl Sanders, the 46-year-old from Kosciusko who has been charged with capital murder in their deaths, is guilty, death by lethal injection is too kind of a punishment.
Yet, to seek the death penalty would be a rejection of the life of peace and unreserved love that the two nuns led, not to mention their religious beliefs. As the Rev. Greg Plata, who pastors the church the nuns served, has emphasized, the Catholic Church teaches all life is sacred, including the lives of those who have committed heinous crimes. He said on Sunday that the two religious orders to which the nuns belonged put out a statement urging prosecutors not to seek the death penalty if Sanders is found guilty.
Although that position is admittedly grounded in a specific religious denomination’s teachings, its example should make all in Mississippi, regardless of church affiliation or lack of one, think deeply about the continued use of the death penalty in this state.
While a good part of the rest of the nation has been rethinking capital punishment, Mississippi has been generally steadfast in its support. Politicians of both parties have said the only problem with the death penalty is that it’s not used enough or that it takes too long to carry out.
There are, though, many problems with capital punishment, both practical and moral. Although it’s true the appeals process can run for decades, that’s a necessary precaution to be certain that the state doesn’t irreversibly err and execute an innocent or mentally incompetent person.
In addition, studies have repeatedly shown that the use of capital punishment is economically and racially biased. Those who are poor or from a minority group are more likely to get a death sentence than those who can afford their own counsel or are white.
The death penalty, furthermore, is expensive. By the time appeals are exhausted many years after sentencing, a death-row case may run up a larger tab than life imprisonment would have.
Lastly, and arguably most importantly, the death penalty diminishes us as a society. It says that while we condemn murder on the one hand, we are prepared to sanction killing as punishment, even though there are alternatives, such as a life sentence without parole, that would protect society just as effectively.
It is easy to oppose the death penalty in the abstract, when it’s someone else’s family member or friend who has been senselessly and brutally killed. The Catholic Church, even as it grieves for the nuns who were murdered, says, however, that this respect for human life from conception to natural death has to be maintained even when it’s personally difficult.
That is a powerful testimony.
Kalich is editor and publisher of The Greenwood Commonwealth.
