[MeOnTheBeach]

(3) That life in prison without parole is preferable to the death penalty. The Church is not against punishing criminals, but generally against the state killing its citizens.

Life in prison is a cowards death penalty. You're still taking someone's life away, you're just doing it slowly.

When people choose to break a law they do so while accepting the penalty that comes with that law. If you don't enforce the penalty then there is no law.

The death penalty is justified. And men should have the courage to carry it out.

[wideawake]

Life in prison is a cowards death penalty.

Your personal opinion of what constitutes bravery or cowardice is, frankly, worthless.

There are two considerations here:

(1) Life without parole is a reversible penalty if legal mistakes have been made.

(2) Placing the power of life or death in the hands of the state is a weighty matter.

In the United States of America, for the moment, this power may be exercised responsibly and justly. In much of the world it is not. And the Church has the responsibility to weigh matters universally, not geographically or temporally.