Holding Fast to the Sacred Worth of Every Person
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The discussion surrounding the planned execution of Nidal Hasan and the proposed livestream of his death raises some deeply troubling questions, and calls us to reflect prayerfully on how we understand justice, accountability, and the sacred worth of human life.
We begin by remembering those killed at Fort Hood, those who survived, and the families and communities who continue to carry the wounds of that violence. Their lives and their grief matter. Our responsibility to accompany them with prayer, compassion, and sustained care remains.
The violence committed at Fort Hood was horrific. Accountability is necessary. Protecting others from harm is necessary. These responsibilities must be upheld in a way which also honors our conviction that every person is created in the image of God.
The United Methodist Church opposes the death penalty. United Methodists, like our siblings in the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and many others do not find it to be a tool that provides accountability or stops harm.
Our Social Principles ground that position in the inherent dignity and worth of every person and call for the abolition of capital punishment. They also call us to minister to those who have lost loved ones to violent crimes and to support families without judgment as they navigate grief, justice, and healing.
Holding these commitments together can be difficult, especially when the harm is so profound. Yet our belief in the sacred worth of every person must extend even to those responsible for terrible acts. Human dignity does not erase responsibility, and accountability does not require that we take another life.
The proposal to livestream an execution raises an additional concern. Broadcasting a person’s death turns an act of violence into a public spectacle. We must ask what we are teaching our children, what we are asking grieving families to endure, and what happens to our own hearts when death becomes something we are invited to watch. Furthermore, people who worship Jesus, who was executed publicly in a horrifying display, should reject such a spectacle regardless of personal feelings on capital punishment more generally.
As leaders in the Rio Texas Conference, we urge our churches to make room for prayerful, honest conversation grounded in Scripture and our Social Principles. We ask United Methodists to resist language that dehumanizes, to care for those affected by violence, and to advocate for an end to the death penalty, alongside all forms of mortal violence.
We recognize that faithful people, including members of our own congregations, may disagree. We invite those conversations with humility and compassion, holding fast to our responsibility to speak clearly about the church’s teaching.
May we be a people who grieve with those who grieve, protect those at risk, seek justice, and bear witness to the mercy of Jesus Christ.
Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey, Presiding Bishop
Rev. Dr. Aaron A. Gonzalez, Assistant to the Bishop
Abel Vega, Director of Connectional Ministries & Mission, Service, Justice Ministries
Adapted with permission from a statement originally published by the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Written by Alisha Bynum, with contributions from Rev. Nathan Lonsdale Bledsoe, Chair of Church & Society.
