This article by Pat McCaughan first appeared in Episcopal Life Online on June 17, 2010. The complete article can be found here.
Utah death penalty opponents—hoping for a last-minute stay of execution for Ronnie Lee Gardner—are planning a June 17 interfaith prayer vigil at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral and a protest rally at the state capitol on the eve of his execution.
“It is looking very unlikely that Gardner will get a stay. All of the resources have been tapped and the answer has been ‘no’ all the way,” Nancy Appleby, chair of the peace and justice commission for the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, said in a telephone interview.
Appleby said representatives of at least seven other faith communities as well as secular groups will gather at the church tonight to pray on behalf of everyone affected by the execution, including the victims’ family members and law enforcement personnel participating in the process.
Later, they will hold a rally at the state capitol, organized by Utahns for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (UTADP), to protest capital punishment.
