Faith leaders denounce Trump administration’s renewal of federal death penalty

Faith leaders are speaking out against the federal government’s decision to begin executing federal prisoners, decrying the Trump administration’s decision to end a nearly two-decade-long moratorium on the federal death penalty.
The outcry came as the US Department of Justice carried out its second execution in a week on July 16, killing 68-year-old Wesley Purkey by lethal injection after he was convicted in 2003 of raping and murdering a 16-year-old girl as well as killing an 80-year-old woman.
Purkey’s death followed the July 14 execution of Daniel Lewis Lee, who was convicted for his involvement in the killing of a family of three. Dustin Honken, who was convicted of shooting and killing five people in July 1993, was executed on July 17.