Former Catholic here, & I'm watching commenters say Francis isn't the real pope rather than shift their position on the death penalty to be in line with the religion they follow. Hard to claim you're Catholic when you actively say you know better than the pope.
FWIW, I've been opposed to the death penalty since I learned 156 people on death row have been exonerated so far, which means for every 10 executed one has been set free. I can't reconcile executing people when the gravest errors are made. Life in prison w/o parole is preferable.
When you add in the fact that disproportionate numbers of people on death row are people of color, and/or have disabilities or are from impoverished backgrounds, it's just too much for me to reconcile. Taking away liberty can be reversed, but taking away life can't be.
I don't trust a death penalty system with so much inherent, systemic bias that gets it wrong so often to be the arbiter of whether someone dies or not. Let the worst of the worst rot in prison. The statistics show that we get it wrong too often.
Last week I had an interesting discussion about this with @jessejholland, who has witnessed executions. His perspective on the death penalty has changed over the years, & particularly since becoming a parent. We hold different views, & we both appreciate where the other stands.
Having intelligent, reasoned conversations about difficult issues is essential for growing our understanding of the world. No one wants to talk about the realities of the death penalty, but it's important we do. Use facts, explain where you're coming from, & be ok w/ disagreeing.
Having a different perspective on moral issues doesn't make someone an enemy. It means you can learn from them, even if you don't agree. At any rate, I think it's disingenuous to claim you belong to a religion when you cherry-pick what beliefs you support. Wow, what a tangent.
