[Barf Alert] Catholic bishops urge Florida governor to spare death-row inmate

Catholic News Service via Crux ^ | August 11, 2018 | Contributor

[ebb tide]

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - The Catholic bishops of Florida urged Gov. Rick Scott to commute the death sentence of Jose Antonio Jimenez to a life sentence without parole.

Jimenez is scheduled to be executed Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. local time for the 1992 murder of Phyllis Minas.

“Both victims of crime and offenders are children of God and members of the same human family,” said an Aug. 10 letter to Scott on behalf of the bishops by Michael B. Sheedy , executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops in Tallahassee.

“We appreciate your difficult task as governor and still must ask you to commute this death sentence, and all death sentences, to life without the possibility of parole,” he said.

Sheedy cited Pope Francis’s announcement Aug. 2 that he had ordered a change in the Catechism of the Catholic Church declaring that the death penalty is inadmissible in all cases.

“This reflects the growing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of great crimes and that more effective forms of detention have been developed to ensure the due protection of citizens without definitively depriving the guilty of the possibility of redemption,” said Sheedy.

“We pray for Ms. Minas and for consolation for her loved ones. All of us are called to stand with victims in their hurt as they seek healing and justice,” he said.

As Floridians gather in prayer for Minas, her family and friends, “and all affected by violent crime,” Sheedy said, “we also invite them to pray for you as you consider this request. We pray also for Mr. Jimenez and all those facing execution.”

Prior to Jimenez’s scheduled execution, Catholic faithful and members of the community will gather across the state to pray for the victims of violent crimes and their families, for those on death row, for Governor Scott as he confronts the decision to proceed with the execution, and for an end to the use of the death penalty. Share:

[ebb tide]

Sheedy cited Pope Francis’s announcement Aug. 2 that he had ordered a change in the Catechism of the Catholic Church declaring that the death penalty is inadmissible in all cases.

[ebb tide]

On Oct. 2, 1992, Minas, who worked as a clerk at what was then called the Metro Justice Building, found Jimenez, a painter, in her second-floor unit at 13725 NE Sixth Ave.

During Jimenez’s trial, neighbors recalled hearing Minas screaming, “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”

But Jimenez locked the front door of her apartment before anyone could get in to help. After a week-long trial, he was found guilty and later sentenced to death.

[Slyfox]

Dear bishops,

Get back to me when you guys decide to go hog wild on unborn babies in danger of abortion.

Sign me,
Truly unconcerned about death row inmates

[Delta 21]

Sometimes the answer is “No”.

[Eagles6]

Ditto.

[Psalm 144]

You clerics go raise the victim back to life. Then we’ll talk. Until then, piss right off.

[Ouderkirk]

Like I’m even considering a word that the sodomite anti-pope has to say about any of this.

Come August 14th at 18:00 hours we should lite this guy up.

[Vigilanteman]

Pope Francis is Marxist, not Catholic.

[Fido969]

It’s possible to be anti-abortion and anti-death penalty. But I’d think one should be given more weight than the other.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The best thing for Gov. Scott to do would be to release a statement discussing the solemnity of his authority to grant commutation in such cases, “but unlike these clergy, who see their holy doctrines as being of the volatile opinions of men, not the inviolable writ of heaven; his authority is unwavering devotion to the people of Florida. And thus he, as governor, cannot seriously take into account the whims of those whose devotions seems to be transitory, confused, and trendy.”

[Mrs. Don-o]

The greatest woman Doctor of the Church was not unconcerned about death row inmates.

My favorite story of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) is this incident: There was a prisoner, Niccolo di Toldo, age 24, who was about to be executed for treason against the government and "sowing discord" during a civil uprising in Siena. He was angry, raving and crying out in wrath, and would not reconcile himself to Christ.

Niccolo did not wish to repent or receive the Last Rites. However, Catherine came to the prison to embrace him and comfort him saying that Christ was with him through his suffering.

She said that for him to know the day, time, and manner of his coming death was a great mercy not given to everyone, and that he should make use of this singular blessing by repenting of his sins and receiving the love of Christ.

She persuaded him to confess his sins and receive Holy Communion, something he had not done in years. Catherine was present at his execution. In a letter to St. Raymond of Capus she wrote:

I waited for him at the place of execution, and as I waited, I kept praying... Before he arrived, I lay down and stretched out my head on the block, and begged Mary for the grace I wanted, namely, that I might give him light and peace of heart at the moment of death...

Then he arrived, like a meek lamb, and when he saw me he began to smile. He asked me to make the sign of the cross over him...

He prostrated with great meekness and I stretched out his neck and bent down to him, reminding him of the blood of the Lamb. His lips kept murmuring only "Jesus" and "Catherine," and he was still murmuring when I received his head into my hands.

Catherine's biographer records that as Niccolo's blood gushed over her white Dominican habit, she had a vision of his soul entering Paradise. She 'saw' him turn for a moment and smile at her, and the whole crowd hushed and fell to their knees. A priest at the scene of the execution said "We all felt that we had witnessed, not the execution of a criminal, but the Transitus of a Saint."

---

So this could be the spiritual blessing of the death penalty: that the guilty party accepts the justice of his sentence and, trusting Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, offers his death as expiation for his sins.

What I want to know is, is there any Catholic in Florida who is Catholic, who has such faith in Christ and love for the criminal, that they will help guide his soul to Paradise?

[Slyfox]

Thanks for that. It really points out how out of touch Frankie really is.

[Slyfox]

Was that really necessary?

[Phillyred]

According to the Miami Herald, the murder of Minas wasn’t Jimenez’s first killing.

After his arrest in the Minas case, he was also convicted of a prior burglary and second-degree murder in the 1990 death of Marie Debas in Miami Beach.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Hey! What about that “separation of church and state” thingy?!

[Chicory]

Not to mention others in danger of homicide (human-caused death) as Terri Schiavo was.

[Jeff Chandler]

I’m surprised they had the time to do so.

[heterosupremacist]

T Y 4 posting.

That was a beautiful, inspirational, story I had never read before.

Dóminus vobíscum

[Mrs. Don-o]

Shame on you.

Your remark tells us more about you, than about him.