BALTIMORE � Cardinals William Keeler and Theodore McCarrick asked Gov. Robert Ehrlich in a letter on Wednesday to spare triple convicted murderer and rapist Steven Oken from the death penalty.

The cardinals and Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli, of Wilmington, Del., asked the governor to commute Oken�s sentence to life in prison without parole.

"What is to be gained by taking the life _ even of a terrible murderer like that? There�s nothing to be gained," McCarrick, the archbishop of Washington, said in a telephone interview.

The Roman Catholic Church has long opposed capital punishment.

Keeler, who is the archbishop of Baltimore, said developed societies no longer need the death penalty because they can protect themselves from violent criminals through other means, such as life in prison without parole.

"We understand and sympathize enormously with the families, but we want to say that taking a life for a life is not the answer," Keeler said.

Saltarelli said the church objected to the death penalty on pastoral and moral grounds.

"We oppose the death penalty _ not only for what it does to those who are guilty of terrible crimes as this man Steven Oken _ but for what it does to all of us by offering an illusion that we can defend life by taking life," Saltarelli said.

Keeler, McCarrick and Saltarelli spoke during a break at the Maryland Catholic Conference in Washington where they met to discuss church issues in Maryland.

Ehrlich, who supports capital punishment, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Oken was sentenced to die for the rape and murder of Dawn Marie Garvin in Baltimore County in 1987. He also was convicted of murdering two other women _ in Maryland and Portland, Maine. Oken�s execution has been scheduled for next week.

His attorney, Fred Warren Bennett, is asking the state�s highest court to delay Oken�s execution so he would have time to challenge the state�s use of lethal injections to carry out death sentences.

The request alleges that "due to the insufficiency of the execution protocols and training of execution team members, the killing of Steven Oken will amount to little more than torture." Oken�s lawyers allege that the state�s method of execution, which uses three separate drugs, inflicts unnecessary pain and suffering.

State officials say they are satisfied that the use of lethal injections provides a humane and painless method of execution.