Maria Huemmer, public relations and outreach coordinator, testified on HB 2267 regarding law of parties and also separation of trials in Capital cases. While the law of parties was taken out of the committee substitute, the Texas Catholic Conference does support separate trials, which give a defendant an opportunity to have his or her unique facts regarding the case taken into account.

The Texas Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Bishops of Texas, asks for your support for House Bill 2267, because it prohibits the state from seeking the death penalty for someone who is found guilty in a capital felony case only as a party.

The Catholic Church fully believes that those who commit terrible, violent crimes must be incarcerated, both as just punishment and in order to protect society. However, when it comes to matters of life and death, morality and common sense call for justice, mercy, and for careful safeguards.

The "law of parties" which allows a person who has not taken the life of another to be sentenced to death, affronts the dignity of the accused person. In situations where the law of parties applies, we must follow the teaching of Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan, a teaching that states that a true neighbor is one who shows mercy (Luke 10:37). Showing mercy does not mean neglecting to administer justice or punish people for their crimes. Showing mercy does mean exhibiting compassion toward all of our brothers and sisters, and providing them with an opportunity for atonement and rehabilitation.

As Christians, we are taught that mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). But displays of mercy are not reserved for the religious. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice states in its mission that it works to promote positive change in offender behavior and to reintegrate offenders into society. The Catholic Church also believes that the criminal justice system should work to foster a justice that focuses on reconciliation, and if possible, encourages the re-insertion of the condemned person into society.

It is also our teaching that if non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person (Catechism of the Catholic Church). And indeed, Pope John Paul II, in his 2002 Jubilee Homily to Prisoners, states that modern society does have the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. The use of the death penalty in our state therefore denies criminals the opportunity for reform and violates the dignity of the human person.

We stand in solidarity with victims and their loved ones. And we also demand that our State show mercy and compassion to all of our brothers and sisters involved in the criminal justice process, which is why we ask that you support HB 2267 and remove the law of parties from Texas law.