Bishops to speak against death penalty in priest’s killing

Author: AP
Published:
This undated file photo provided by St. Johns County Sheriffs Office via Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, shows Father Rene Wayne Robert, a Roman Catholic priest in Florida whose body was found in rural east Georgia, in 2016. Robert devoted his life to helping society’s most troubled people, a mission that continues even after his death. The priest signed a “Declaration of Life” insisting that in the event of his murder, his killer should not face execution. (FHSMV/St. Johns County Sheriffs Office via AP, File)

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – Catholic officials from Georgia and Florida are urging a Georgia prosecutor to reverse her decision to seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a Florida priest.

Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Ashley Wright is seeking the death penalty against Steven Murray, who faces charges in the April killing of the Rev. Rene Robert.

Catholic bishops plan to hold a news conference Tuesday outside the Richmond County Courthouse. They note that Robert left a signed and notarized “Declaration of Life” saying that if he were to suffer a violent death he wouldn’t want the person responsible to be executed.

Wright has said she considered the facts in the case and the aggravated nature of the slaying when deciding to seek the death penalty.

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