June 19, 2009
Taking the Time to Make a Difference
Acknowledging what is done on my behalf
BY PAUL R. LEINGANG
She and I have talked about this thing over the years, but it was still a shock to hear her words.
“Eric, the man who murdered my daughter, is coming up for the death penalty, possibly this summer,” said Mary Winnecke of Evansville, “and I am opposed to the death penalty.”
She had a request: “I would like it if people would write to the governor to say we don’t want the death penalty in Indiana.”
Mary is a friend, and when she called to ask my help, I agreed to relay her request to anyone who would listen.
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Mary’s daughter Natalie was married to Tony Fulkerson. Tony’s sister Debbie was in a troubled marriage with Eric Wrinkles, a meth-addict.
After arguments and threats, Debbie moved out of her home and took her children to live with Natalie and Tony.
On July 21, 1994, Eric Wrinkles cut the phone lines at the Fulkerson home, kicked in the door, shot and killed Tony and Natalie as they tried to escape with the children, and shot his wife, Debbie. According to a summary of trial testimony, one of the children, Lindsey Wrinkles saw her father shoot and kill her mother.
During the penalty phase, Mary Winnecke testified that she did not want the death penalty. The legal guardian of the Wrinkles children testified that she feared the adverse effect it would have on the children. And Lindsey Wrinkles, too, said she did not want her father to be put to death.
On July 14, 1995, after examining the factors of aggravation and mitigation, the court sentenced Matthew “Eric” Wrinkles to death.
There may be doubt in other cases, but Mary Winnecke has no doubt in her mind that Eric is the man who killed her daughter.
But “executions are done by the state in the name of the people,” she said. “I do not want the state to take his life in my name.”
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The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty in nearly all cases, Pope John Paul II wrote, in Evangelium Vitae in 1995.
“. . . the nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: In other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today, however as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.”
Mary Winnecke’s personal witness also offers a certain truth for our reflection.
It is not the prosecutor, the judge, the jury, the governor or the warden who takes the life of a killer; they are following the law of the land, acting in our name, on our behalf. It is not “they” who execute a convicted murderer; it is “we” who do it. You and I.
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Take the time to study the laws in your state, and the teaching of the Catholic Church. Here in Indiana, the Indiana Catholic Conference issued a statement in August 1998, which explained this portion of the Catholic pro-life position.
“It is our best judgment as pastors and lay members of the Church who are devoted to defending life that capital punishment will only serve to inflame the culture of violence that is already too prevalent in our state. We believe that capital punishment undermines the sacredness of human life. It fails to combat crime effectively and doesn’t contribute to building a society that is free from crime. Furthermore, it neither helps the victims who survive nor does it mitigate the loss of the victims who do not.”
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There are many actions that might flow from reflecting on these matters. You might write to the governor, or to the editor. You might become part of an organization to assist crime victims, or to assist the family members of convicted criminals. You might remember that there is no “they” within the body of Christ, only us. You might pray for Mary and Eric and Lindsey and all the others, and for you and for me.
Comments are welcome at office@cfm.org or the Christian Family Movement, P.O. Box 925, Evansvsille, IN 47706-0925