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Novena to End Florida's Death Penalty

Notice from the Florida Catholic Advocacy Network (FLCAN)

July 29, 2025

With the execution of Edward Zakrzewski on July 31, the ninth to take place in 2025, Florida will break its record for the number of executions carried out in a single year. The state is not stopping there. Governor DeSantis has already signed a 10th death warrant; Kayle Bates is scheduled to be executed on August 19. This record pace of executions is alarming.

The death penalty is a harmful and unnecessary form of punishment. State-sanctioned killing further distorts society's understanding of the sacredness of all human life, diminishing the recognition of our own inherent dignity and that of others. Our ability to protect society by incarcerating the offender for life eliminates the need for executions, making every execution an act of revenge that outweighs any possible good to society. 

We are called to mercy and compassion, not violence and vengeance. With mercy towards the offenders, who themselves have often been victimized in life, and compassion for the victims of violence and their families, whose grief is not eliminated by the taking of another life, justice can be better served. 

Please join the bishops of Florida to pray a novena for an end to the use of Florida's death penalty. We will pray from August 6-14, 2025, concluding on the Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who was executed in an Auschwitz prison camp in 1941. We will continue to ask the governor to stop signing death warrants. However, prayer is powerful!

Resources from the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops

Visit: Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops - Novena to End Florida's Death Penalty

Sign up to receive an email and/or text reminder on each day of the novena.

Printable versions of the prayer and accompanying scripture verses for reflection:

Learn more about the death penalty in Florida.

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