In the shadow of the state-sponsored execution of Jesus on Good Friday, The Fountains United Methodist and New Journey Lutheran (ELCA) are sponsoring a discussion series, “Questioning Capital Punishment with Sister Helen Prejean.”

The five-session DVD study from Living the Questions, “Questioning Capital Punishment” tackles the death penalty issue. Sister Helen Prejean is one of the world’s leading authorities and outspoken critics of state-sponsored execution.

Each session will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the sanctuary of The Fountains, a United Methodist Church, 15300 N Fountain Hills Blvd.

Tuition for all five sessions is $20, with all proceeds going to the Discourse Center in New Orleans.

The first session, “Crossing the Breach,” will be tomorrow, April 20.

Subsequent topics and dates are:

April 27, “What in God’s Name?”

May 11, “A Change of Heart”

May 18, “Radical Forgiveness”

May 25, “Next Steps”

Christians are divided on the issue of capital punishment, said Rev. David Felten, pastor at The Fountains. United Methodists, ELCA Lutherans and Roman Catholics are officially opposed to the death penalty but not all members agree, said Felten.

“The Bible is no help. It both mandates and prohibits capital punishment,” Prejean said. “Various faith traditions teach different perspectives – and the argument over the sacredness of life is immediately compromised when the death penalty is introduced.”

In recent years, application of the death penalty has been called into question for a growing number of ethical and moral reasons. From the botched executions in both Arizona and Oklahoma to the growing list of wrongfully convicted people exonerated due to the introduction of DNA evidence, to its unequal application among minorities, to its impact on the poor and those who can’t afford adequate legal representation, to its continued contribution to the cycle of violence, the death penalty needs serious questioning.

Felten and Rev. Adele Stiles Resmer of New Journey Lutheran will lead the discussion featuring input from Sister Helen Prejean.

She has ministered to numerous inmates on death row and has written two books based on those experiences, Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.