Churches across 17 counties will ring their bells in unison today in honor of the 344 people on death row in Florida.
St. Patrick Church, at 500 NE 16th Ave., will host the second annual Gainesville Cities for Life event at 6:30 p.m., said Deacon Lowell “Corky” Hecht, the director of the prison ministry for the Diocese of St. Augustine. The event will feature three speakers, a Q&A and ringing of the bells.
Cities for Life is an international day that calls for the end of the death penalty in honor of when Italy ended its death penalty on Nov. 30, 1786, Hecht said.
The speakers at the event include criminal appeals lawyer Sonya Rudenstine, anti-death penalty activist Christine Henderson and Herb Donaldson, whose uncle was executed and is believed to have been innocent, Hecht said.
Hecht, who has served as a deacon for 27 years, has worked with the inmates at Florida State Prison, Union Correctional and smaller prisons around the Catholic district for the past two years. He prays with inmates, gives them communion and provides religious books for them to read.
Outgoing Gov. Rick Scott has scheduled an execution for Jose Jimenez on Dec. 13, Hecht said. Jimenez was convicted of killing a Miami woman in 1992, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Hecht has known men who have been executed and has spoken with men in solitary confinement right outside their cell door, he said.
Catholics should stand against the death penalty in order to preserve the preciousness of human life, he said.
“It’s extremely hard to rationalize why, as a civilized society, we do this,” Hecht said.
Abigail Moritz, a 20-year-old UF business administration sophomore, will volunteer at the demonstration by introducing speakers.
Moritz said the death penalty is not talked about as much as it should be and more young people should get involved.
“We cannot just rely on older generations to take care of things for us,” she said.
Last year, 45 people attended the first Gainesville Cities of Life event, Hecht said. He hopes more than 100 people attend this year.
While there will be an opening and closing prayer, the event is not strictly for Catholics, Hecht said. The demonstration will close with a candlelighting ceremony.
“When we light these candles, it’s like taking ownership for one soul, one person,” Hecht said.
Contact Hannah Beatty at hbeatty@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @hannahbeatty_
Susan Johnson bends to light one of the 352 candles in St. Patrick Catholic Church, located at 500 NE 16th Ave., on Thursday night. The candles, which represented the 352 inmates on death row in Florida, were part of the church’s Cities for Life Day event.
