The Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights and the Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) hosted a panel discussion, “Stories of Justice from Death Row,” on Oct. 8 at the University of Notre Dame.
The panel included Gary Drinkard, a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder in Alabama and spent six years on death row before being exonerated; Rev. Dr. Crystal Walker, a woman who lost her son to gun violence and has become a staunch advocate for abolishing the death penalty; and Ruth Friedman, an attorney who has dedicated her career to fighting for the rights and lives of men and women sentenced to death.
CMN is a national organization dedicated to ending the death penalty and promoting restorative justice within the Catholic community and beyond.
Emmjolee Mendoza Waters, director of CMN’s Death Penalty Abolition Program, started the event on Oct. 8 with a presentation about the general landscape for death penalty policy across the United States.
- Since 1978, a total of 1,641 people have been executed.
- Although the death penalty has been abolished in 23 states, it is still allowed in 27 states. Of these 27 states, four have paused executions. Indiana resumed executions in 2024 after a 15-year pause.
- Today, approximately 2,100 people are on death row nationwide.
The Catholic Church has consistently stood for life. “The three previous popes have all been consistent in saying that the death penalty undermines human dignity, is cruel, and does not bring about true justice,” Mendoza Waters said, noting that most recently, Pope Leo XIV has reminded us of this stance.
Gary Drinkard is the board chair of Witness to Innocence, an organization that is run by death row exonerees. He said, “The death penalty is vengeance. It’s not justice, it’s vengeance — plain and simple." For every eight people on death row, about one person is exonerated, which demonstrates that there are a lot of innocent people like Drinkard on death row.
Rev. Dr. Crystal Walker also spoke on abolishing the death penalty as she herself grieved the loss of her son, who was murdered in 2013. As a retaliatory murder followed that of her son’s, she said, “My first thought was actually ‘good,’ and then I thought about that, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Some mother, some brother or sister, some grandparents, some friends are suffering the same way that I’m suffering, and it is not good.” Walker explained that the death penalty does not necessarily stand for the victims, as it causes more suffering and pain for families.
Ruth Friedman mentioned near the beginning of the panel that there are a lot of parts to addressing the death penalty that matter. It is surrounded by legal issues, policy issues, and human issues. She also noted that the death penalty is a racial issue because it disproportionately impacts people of color.
As a death penalty lawyer, Friedman said, “I am also thrilled that I’ve gotten to represent the clients that I have, every one of them, because everybody has a story and they’re not throwaway people.” Near the end of the panel, emphasizing the importance of continuously trying humanize this issue, she said, “There’s reason to be hopeful. Telling the stories is really huge.”
Watch the full panel discussion on the Klau Institute’s YouTube channel.