“The reality is that capital punishment in America is a lottery. It is a punishment that is shaped by the constraints of poverty, race, geography and local politics.”
-Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative
World Day Against the Death Penalty – October 10, 2026
On October 10, people around the world observe World Day Against the Death Penalty, remembering those affected by capital punishment and calling for an end to executions. For us, this day connects deeply with a commitment that goes back more than 30 years. In 1993, the IHM Governing Board formally stated: “We, the IHM Congregation, oppose the death penalty. The Gospel and Catholic social teaching impel us to do so.”
Since January 2004, the IHM Sisters have participated in “For Whom the Bells Toll,” ringing the bell at the Motherhouse to remember people who have been executed and the victims of the crimes that brought them to death row. On the last Wednesday of each month, before Mass in the Motherhouse Chapel, the bell is rung once for each person executed during the previous month. The names of the person executed and their victim are read aloud, followed by a moment of silence and prayer.
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, founded in 2002, brings together more than 160 organizations, including human rights groups, lawyers, unions and local governments, working toward the abolition of capital punishment. And change is happening. As of the end of 2025, 113 countries had completely abolished the death penalty, while 145 had abolished it in law or practice. Yet executions continue in some parts of the world, including the United States. Amnesty International recorded at least 2,707 executions in 17 countries during 2025.
In April 2026, Pope Leo XIV described the death penalty as “inadmissible” and expressed support for those working for its abolition in the United States and around the world. Rejecting the death penalty does not mean ignoring violence or minimizing the suffering of victims and their families. It means asking whether justice can hold people accountable without taking another life.
Take action
- Catholic Mobilizing Network: Find Catholic resources and opportunities to work toward ending the death penalty.
- For Whom the Bells Toll: Learn about the campaign and find action resources.
- Amnesty International USA: Find current death penalty advocacy opportunities.
- Death Penalty Information Center: Explore research, statistics and information about executions and exonerations.
Did you know?
Did you know that the death penalty was once carried out by hanging, firing squad, electrocution, the gas chamber and lethal injection, and that some of these methods are still authorized in parts of the United States? The methods used to execute people have changed over time, but the fundamental question remains: can a system designed and administered by human beings ever be completely free from error? At least 203 people who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the United States have been exonerated since 1973. Their cases are a sobering reminder that an irreversible punishment leaves no room to correct a mistake after a life has been taken. Sometimes the most powerful argument for justice is the possibility that we might be wrong.