Photo: Tennessee Department of CorrectionAs the state fights in court to defend its method of execution, Catholic leaders are calling for mercy for the 62 men and one woman on Tennessee's death row.

Tennessee's three Catholic bishops, representing the dioceses of Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville, have written a letter to Gov. Bill Haslam urging him to call off the Aug. 9 execution of Billy Ray Irick, as well as others the state is pursuing.

"We urge you to use your authority as governor to put an end to the fast-track executions planned for later this year," the bishops write. "It is within your power to establish your legacy as a governor of Tennessee who did not preside over an execution on your watch."

The bishops are J. Mark Spalding of Nashville, Richard Stika of Knoxville, and Martin Holley of Memphis. In their letter, they reference a 2014 meeting with the governor in which the bishops serving at the time discussed their opposition to the death penalty.

From the letter:



In 2014, you may recall, Bishops Stika, Choby, and Steib discussed with you their strong opposition to the state carrying out the death penalty. At that time, Bishop Stika shared with you the account of Pope John Paul II’s (now Saint John Paul) role in commuting the death sentence of Missouri’s Darrell Mease to life in prison during the papal visit to St. Louis in 1999. At that time, the pope called for the end to the death penalty as both cruel and unnecessary. He said that it is simply not necessary as the only means to protect society while still providing a just punishment for those who break civil laws. Rather than serving as a path to justice, the death penalty contributes to the growing disrespect for human life.

They go on to write that they "join with many other religious denominations in firm opposition to the execution of even those convicted of heinous crimes."

Irick was convicted in 1986 of the rape and murder of 7-year-old Paula Dyer. He has suffered from severe mental illness throughout his life, according to court filings including testimony from the victim's family.

A trial over Tennessee's lethal injection protocol is currently ongoing after more than 30 death row prisoners filed suit over it earlier this year. The state plans to execute inmates with a three-drug cocktail that begins with midazolam. That drug, according to attorneys representing the inmates — as well as experts who have testified at the trial — is not strong enough to keep a person from feeling the effects of the second two drugs. Experts have likened the effects of the subsequent drugs to being buried and burned alive.



The last execution carried out in Tennessee was the lethal injection of Cecil Johnson in 2009. The state has carried out six executions since 1976.