Tag: capital punishment

Faith & Advocacy

Silence as Structure: What the Church Has Been Allowing

Sonya

Back in March, I wrote: The tradition I come from has a lot to say about mercy. About the image of God present in every human being. About what it means to stand before judgment and find grace on the other side. But the church has been largely silent on what happens when the state… Continue reading Silence as Structure: What the Church Has Been Allowing

Systemic Spotlight, Women Behind Bars

Six Women the State Learned to Kill: The Standard Changed. Ask Why

Sonya

All month, I’ve been writing about the conditions that make women executable in America — the narratives, the stereotypes, the erasures, the silences. Today is different. Today is about the women themselves. Lisa Montgomery. Wanda Jean Allen. Kimberly McCarthy. Frances Newton. Karla Faye Tucker. Ethel Rosenberg. Six women across different eras and circumstances, pulled into… Continue reading Six Women the State Learned to Kill: The Standard Changed. Ask Why

Women Behind Bars

Before America Could Execute Women

Sonya

It Had to Decide Which Women Were Women America has never been entirely comfortable executing women. Not because women are incapable of violence.Not because the legal system is merciful. But because female execution disrupts something deeper in the American imagination. Before the state can kill a woman, it often has to make her something else… Continue reading Before America Could Execute Women

Systemic Spotlight, Women Behind Bars

Condemned Twice: They Were Never Just the Crime

Sonya

Opening a Month-Long Series on Women and the Death Penalty In March, I told you this post was just the door. I said we would go deep— into the history, the data, the race, the cases, the faith questions that don't have easy answers. I meant it. May is here. The door is open. There… Continue reading Condemned Twice: They Were Never Just the Crime