Local faith leaders gathered in front of the Pinellas County Justice Center on Good Friday to urge State Attorney Bernie McCabe to stop seeking death sentences.
The diverse group delivered a letter, signed by 46 local faith leaders, expressing concern that the county seeks the death penalty more than almost every other county in the entire United States. The letter also highlights a poll released In February that shows that 68% of Pinellas County voters prefer alternatives to the death penalty for people convicted of murder.
McCabe’s Sixth Judicial Circuit includes Pinellas County, an outlier county compared to the rest of the United States when it comes to its frequent usage of the death penalty. Court records indicate that McCabe has filed to seek death in 15 pending cases and six retrials. Nine death penalty trials are already scheduled for 2018.
“Pinellas residents are looking for life-affirming alternatives to the death penalty,” said Rev. Bob Schneider, Pastor of St. Cecelia Church in Clearwater. “They no longer want to answer violence with more violence.”
Florida Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (FL-CCATDP) offered their support to the faith leaders and efforts to halt death sentence. “People are fallible, as we have seen with innocent people being sentenced to death right here in Pinellas County,” said Mohammed Shaker, a founding member of FL-CCATDP. “A death penalty system that can deprive even one person of life and liberty, compromises liberty for us all. There is no reversing an error after a death sentence is carried out.”
