The Diocese Of West Missouri
The Rt. Rev. Barry K. Howe, D. Min. Bishop
May 15, 2005
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We, the Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the state of Missouri, write to you this Day of Pentecost to bid your prayers and actions on a matter of justice. We write, knowing that we follow a Redeemer who once intervened upon an unjust execution in progress. (John 7:53-8:11) We share with you the proclamation that our Savior was himself the victim of an unjust execution on the cross, an injustice which God has turned into victory through the power of the resurrection. We write also in the knowledge that since 1958, the Episcopal Church has been clear and consistent in its gospel-based opposition to the death penalty.
It weighs heavy upon us to know that Missouri has the highest per capita execution rate in the nation, a fact laden with so many injustices that come together in the life and scheduled execution of Mr. Vernon Brown. On behalf of all of us, the people of Missouri, the criminal justice system intends to put Mr. Brown to death next Wednesday, May 18.
There is no doubt about Mr. Brown’s guilt; he has confessed to committing horrific crimes. What is in doubt is the quality of justice whenever the death penalty is applied, a doubt exemplified in Mr. Brown’s story. In Mr. Brown’s case, we find a story of personal tragedy and truncated justice. From the process of jury selection, through trial court procedures and inadequate legal representation, on to the appellate courts and clemency pleas, all within a highly polarized climate—we find instance after instance in which the quality of mercy should have been applied for Mr. Brown. The circumstances of his life were lost or deliberately suppressed through the legal process, and mercy never received a consideration. Without mercy, say the prophets, justice is cheated.
We ask you especially to consider the racism inherent in the death penalty’s use, a well-known and carefully documented aspect of this criminal sentence. We write at this juncture, partly because Vernon Brown would become the third black man executed in Missouri in the past three months, and we cannot allow this to pass, accepting it merely as a matter of coincidence.
Vernon Brown is no innocent. But he is a black man, raised in poverty and having encountered abuse of every kind, left with seriously diminished mental capabilities as a result of a childhood beating, affected by and addicted to chemical substances in his adulthood. Yet now by God’s goodness, he has become a friend to many and threat to absolutely no one, through the fifteen years he has spent in prison. In the structured life of prison, he has become a gentle human being. The injustice is that these details have never been given consideration, not at trial, not in sentencing, not in the appeals process, and not in the clemency procedure, the final granting of which lies in the power of the governor.
What can we do for Mr. Brown, for the 56 others under sentence of death in Missouri, and for the 3,455 persons in the same situation across our country? First, we can pray for them, for their families and friends, and for the persons who were victims of their crimes and their families. Next, we can pray for those who have the power to do justice and to grant mercy to these persons, that their hearts might be inclined to justice and mercy. Finally, we can make our belief about this issue known to those around us and to those in authority.
The Holy Spirit empowers us with gifts to be used for the common good. The common good is never served by continuing practices of injustice and by acts perpetuating lethal violence. It may well be too late for Mr. Brown, but we must nonetheless bear witness, lest we passively submit to the powers of death and injustice. Obedience to Christ, raised from the dead, requires us to speak out.
Faithfully,
Barry Howe
Bishop of West Missouri
George Wayne Smith
Bishop of Missouri