There is been much in the news these past weeks about the actions of Governor Ryan in commuting sentences and granting clemency. It has sparked words of praise for him as well as words vilifying him. It seems that every fiber of our being screams out for justice for people who have committed these horrible crimes. However, it is important to understand what Governor Ryan actually did, as well as to understand what our Church teaches on these issues.

First of all, we must remember that commuting a sentence or granting clemency is NOT the same thing as granting a pardon (mercy). Commuting a sentence (e.g. from death to life imprisonment) is done because there is something that indicates that there is a possibility of a wrong judgment (e.g. a false confession was coerced out of a person). In other words there is something wrong with the system, and the Governor does not want to take the chance that innocent people will be put to death. A pardon means that actual evidence has arisen after a trial that the person did not commit the crime (e.g. a witness comes forward or the actual perpetrator of the crime comes forward).

In this case, the person is set free.

What the Governor has done in regards to commuting sentences or granting clemency is to say that there is a reasonable doubt that a just sentence was not handed down because of some defect in the legal system. He is not saying that these individuals are not guilty. It does not mean that these people will be set free to walk the streets. They still must pay their debt to society through life imprisonment without parole.

What does our Church teach? Our Church teaches the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. This is why the Holy Father routinely asks heads of state to show mercy for those scheduled to be executed. This is a very hard teaching, especially when a person has committed a horrible crime.

We all want justice, and execution seems to be the way to go. But is it?

Many claim that an execution seems to be the way to put closure on what this person has done to the victim and their family. Psychologists tell us that this is not true. The anger, hatred and other emotions will continue long after any execution.

What does our Church teach about justice? It has always taught that justice must be tempered with mercy. Why? Strict justice is very exacting, and admits of no mitigating circumstances. For instance, as children are growing up and are learning the difference between right and wrong, they sometimes do things that they do not know are wrong (e.g. that they can't take something from the store without paying). The parent has to teach the child that this is wrong. If we measure the child's action by justice only, he/she has committed a crime (stealing) and should technically be prosecuted. However, when we temper justice with mercy, we realize the child is not fully culpable because he/she had not yet been taught that what they did was wrong, and he/she is not liable to prosecution.

This is especially true with God's justice. If God judged our actions according to justice only, not many of us would survive. We always claim that there are mitigating circumstances for our sinful actions. Certainly we want God to take these circumstances into account as He judges us - Thus, justice tempered with His mercy. If we expect this from God, shouldn't we expect it from each other?