Local - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Southwestern Pennsylvania churches seek death penalty moratorium

 The top leaders of the major Christian traditions in Southwestern Pennsylvania have called on Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Legislature to impose a moratorium on the death penalty.

"This appeal comes from the common belief of the major Christian leaders in southwestern Pennsylvania -- Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic -- that the taking of a life for another's life is both morally indefensible and does not function to deter crime," said the letter from Christian Associates of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

That group represents 23 Christian bodies in a 10-county area. They include three Catholic dioceses and archdioceses, five presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (USA), five Orthodox dioceses and archdioceses, three Methodist conferences, two Baptist associations, the local synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and representatives of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Polish National Catholic Church, the United Church of Christ and the Salvation Army.