people are more than the worst thing they have ever done in their lives

Mercy is "stronger and more God-like than vengeance".

The death penalty is a poor person's issue. Always remember that: after all the rhetoric that goes on in the legislative assemblies, in the end, when the deck is cast out, it is the poor who are selected to die in this country.

I realize that I cannot stand by silently as my government executes its citizens. If I do not speak out and resist, I am an accomplice.

Remorse presupposes enough self-forgetfulness to feel the pain ofothers.

When people of color are killed in the inner city, when homeless people are killed, when the "nobodies" are killed, district attorneys do not seek to avenge their deaths. Black, Hispanic, or poor families who have a loved one murdered not only don't expect the district attorney's office to pursue the death penalty -which, of course, is both costly and time consuming- but are surprised when the case is prosecuted at all.

When you try, God is there and you get the grace you need to get you through.