By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
MIAMI | While Florida's bishops ask Gov. Rick Scott to halt the execution of Michael Lambrix, set for Thursday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m., the Archdiocese of Miami's Detention Ministry has scheduled prayer vigils to coincide with the time when the death sentence is to be carried out.
Lambrix received two death sentences for the 1983 murders of Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant and has spent over three decades on death row.
In a Sept. 28 letter on behalf of the bishops of Florida, Michael Sheedy, executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, appealed to Gov. Scott to commute Lambrix's death sentence to a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
"Supporters of the death penalty generally presume that this most extreme of sentences is reserved for the 'worst of the worst,' when in fact it is applied in a very arbitrary manner," wrote Sheedy. "Note that Mr. Lambrix indicates he was offered a plea deal, which, had he accepted it, would have allowed him to return to society and his family by now. Instead, he faces execution."
Additionally, defendants who were sentenced by non-unanimous juries prior to June 2002 have been considered eligible for resentencing hearings. Yet those like Lambrix, who were sentenced prior to that date - but under the same system ruled unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court - have been denied resentencing under a unanimous jury requirement.
"Our faith calls us to be consistently pro-life, protecting life in all of its forms and all of its stages. Even those who have committed terrible deeds and caused great pain possess a God-given dignity that is neither earned nor can it be forfeited," the bishops wrote in their Action Alert to the state's Catholics.
In the days leading up to the scheduled execution, the Archdiocese of Miami will join the six other dioceses throughout the state to pray for both the victims and the aggressor, all their families, and for an end to the use of the death penaly. The vigils will take place in the following locations, led by Deacon Edgardo Farías, director of the Detention Ministry, and his volunteers:
- Wednesday, Oct. 4, prayer vigil from 2 to 3 p.m on Radio Paz 830AM, during the program "Fe y Esperanza" hosted by the Detention Ministry
- Wednesday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m., at St. Dismas Outreach Center, on the grounds of St. Robert Bellarmine Mission. 2640 N.W. 34 St., Miami
- Wednesday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m., at St. Dismas Outreach Center on the grounds of St. Joseph Haitian Mission, 1210 N.W. Sixth Ave., Pompano Beach
- Thursday, Oct. 5, following the 11:45 a.m, Mass at St. Martha Church, 9401 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami Shores.
