Pope Francis Condemns Life Imprisonment For Erasing ‘Hope’

Pope Francis Condemns Life Imprisonment For Erasing ‘Hope’

September 19, 2019

In an address to prison staff, chaplains, and inmates, Pope Francis said life imprisonment is never legitimate because it deprives criminals of “prospects of reconciliation and reintegration.”

Breitbart News reports that after having officially declared the death penalty “inadmissible” in 2018, Francis now condemns life imprisonment without parole as well, even for the most dangerous criminals, claiming that society has the responsibility to “never suffocate the flame of hope.”

“It is up to every society to feed [the flame of hope], to ensure that punishment does not compromise the right to hope, that prospects of reconciliation and reintegration are guaranteed,” he said. “While remedying the mistakes of the past, we cannot erase hope in the future. Life imprisonment is not the solution to problems, but a problem to be solved. Because if hope is locked up, there is no future for society.”

On the contrary, there is no future for society if justice is not served and victims are not valued over perpetrators.

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