Speaking of faith from American public media is supported by faith and values media,

producers of the four chaplains, sacrifice at sea, available on DVD.

Support is also provided by the Pew Charitable Trusts, investing in ideas returning results,

PewTrusts.com, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the John Templeton Foundation.

I'm Krista Tippett, supporters of the death penalty site values of justice and fairness,

those opposed say it is wrong ever to take a life. Religious language is invoked on both sides.

This is speaking of faith, conversation about belief, meaning ethics, and ideas.

Today, religious ideas and questions about one of America's most controversial public policies

of life and death, the death penalty. There's always two sides to a story, and each, I guess,

believes what they're saying. But the fact of the matter is, is that Ronnie killed my uncle.

The death penalty is the only thing that I have. There has to be some sort of closure,

and to me that's the only closure there can be. That's it.

There are ongoing constitutional challenges to the death penalty in several states,

and the Supreme Court recently banned the execution of juveniles. But Connecticut is preparing to

execute a murderer for the first time in four decades, and a majority of Americans continue

to favor the death penalty in principle. By contrast, in recent years, there's been a striking

convergence of Christian, Jewish, and other religious groups, both conservative and liberal.

Many are calling for an end to the death penalty, or a moratorium until its application can

be made more just. With the exception of the Southern Baptist Convention, the other largest

Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church are part of this movement. In this hour,

we'll take a look at what they consider to be ethically and spiritually at stake. We won't

indulge in simple categories of four or against. Instead, we'll consult a rabbi on the context

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