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Catholics across Utah have been asked to reach out to lawmakers and urge them to abolish the state's use of the death penalty.
The call to action was issued Monday via email and Twitter messages to the faithful from the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.
The lobbying effort stems from a statement by Pope Francis, telling all Catholics to "promote the culture of life" by working to end capital punishment.
"Utah Catholics are in a position to do much to end the death penalty in our state, starting now," says the email from Jean Hill, the government liaison for the diocese.
Utah lawmakers did not pass a death penalty repeal bill during the 2016 legislative session — although a measure got further than expected — and they may consider the issue again in 2017, the statement notes.
"After the legislative session last year, when we got so much further with the bill than we expected, we decided there needs to be a whole campaign and strategy really pushing this issue," Hill said Tuesday. "We need to educate Catholics on the death penalty, and we need to start getting our Catholic voice heard on this issue."
This is not the first time the Diocese of Salt Lake City, which claims about 300,000 followers statewide, has spoken publicly against the death penalty. Former Bishop John C. Wester did so when he led the diocese. Now the archbishop of Santa Fe, Wester is leading an effort against reinstating capital punishment in New Mexico.
There are nine men on Utah's death row. Most were convicted and sentenced to die before 1999, although one of those men was retried and convicted again in 2015.
Utah's primary method of execution for condemned killers is lethal injection. However, a firing squad can also be used in some circumstances. The state last carried out a capital sentence in 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad, drawing national headlines.
Nationally, support for capital punishment has declined, with many polls showing a majority of Americans prefer the alternate punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Utahns, who are religiously conservative and predominantly Republican, have long supported capital punishment by a wide majority.
A 2016 poll by SurveyUSA for The Salt Lake Tribune and the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah found that about 69 percent of Utahns approve of capital punishment.
A similar UtahPolicy.com poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates in December 2015 found that 77 percent of Utahns who describe themselves as "very active" Mormons favor the capital punishment. It also found that 53 percent of Catholics support the death penalty — a number in line with national polling on the issue.
That's why Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, who has worked to increase the number of death-penalty-eligible Utah crimes, said he doesn't believe a call for Catholic activism will change anything.
"I've had emails already from two people who said, 'I'm Catholic, and I go to Mass and the church is wrong on this issue,' " Ray said Tuesday. "I have a lot of respect for the Catholic Church. … I think they've got it wrong on this one."
Ray said he's working on legislation for the 2017 legislative session to make it a mandatory capital offense to target and kill a police officer; another potential measure would make human-trafficking deaths a capital crime. He's also looking to streamline the appeals process to shorten the time between conviction and execution.
Ray said he doesn't believe Catholics, or members of any other faith, would change their position on an issue just because their church leaders take a particular stand.
"You're still dealing with people who have their own views and opinions," he said. No amount of lobbying, Ray said, would likely change his view that some crimes are so horrific that the only just punishment is "to terminate" the perpetrators.
Hill is more optimistic about changing the hearts and minds of Utahns. She also isn't bothered by Ray's commitment to keeping the death penalty in place.
"I don't need Rep. Ray to move," she said. "I need the others to move."
Twitter: @jenniferdobner