Pope pleads for life of convict scheduled for execution
September 29, 2015
Pope Francis has appealed to the state of Georgia to halt the execution of a convicted murderer.
The execution of Kelly Gissendaner is scheduled for Tuesday night, September 29. She was found guilty of arranging the 1997 murder of her husband.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the apostolic nuncio in the US, relayed the papal appeal to the Georgia parole board, writing:
While not wishing to minimize the gravity of the crime for which Ms. Gissendaner has been convicted, and while sympathizing with the victims, I nonetheless implore you...to commute the sentence to one that would better express justice and mercy.
The parole board has reportedly declined to stop the executioner, and Gissendaner remains scheduled for execution by lethal injection tonight.
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