We stood together outside the Leon County Courthouse in Tallahassee on a beautiful October morning, with the Florida Capitol in view. We were Latino evangelical and Pentecostal bishops, pastors, and faith leaders, gathered to speak at a press conference about the sanctity of human life and our growing concern over Florida’s extraordinary pace of executions.
We had come to Tallahassee with a simple message: It is time to pause the executions and make room for mercy.
For us, the sanctity of life is not a political position. It is a deeply held conviction rooted in our Christian faith. We believe that every person is created in the image of God and has an inherent dignity that cannot be taken away, even by the most terrible crime. We believe in accountability and justice. But we also believe in mercy, redemption, and the possibility of transformation.
That shared conviction brought more than 100 Latino evangelical and Pentecostal bishops, pastors, and other faith leaders together to sign a letter urging Governor Ron DeSantis to pause executions in Florida. The letter represents a growing willingness among Latino evangelical leaders to speak publicly and collectively about an issue that has rarely been discussed in our churches. Our silence is ending.
In our letter, we wrote that for a church called to participate in God's reconciling mission, the finality of an execution cannot be reconciled with a vision of justice in which mercy and restoration remain possible. We drew upon the words of Deuteronomy 30:19, where God sets before his people life and death, blessings and curses, and calls them to “choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
Our call comes as Florida moves in the opposite direction from much of the country. Just this week, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commuted a death sentence for the third time, citing concerns about the evidence in the case. Governors in Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Ohio have also commuted death sentences. These decisions demonstrate that even in states that retain capital punishment, governors can exercise their authority with caution, compassion, and restraint.
There are many other reasons to oppose the death penalty, among them the risk of executing an innocent person, its unequal use, and the often overlooked toll on corrections officers, lawyers, judges, families, and everyone involved in the process. Each of these is a moral concern. But for people of faith who believe in the sanctity of human life, they all lead to one central question: Should the state take a life when there are other ways to hold people accountable and protect society?
We believe the answer is no. We are better than this.
Agustin Quiles is the president of Mission Talk, a Florida-based nonprofit that equips and mobilizes Latino faith communities for public policy engagement and community transformation. He joined more than 100 Latino faith leaders in signing a letter to Governor DeSantis calling for a pause in executions.
