December 4, 2009
To hold prayer vigil opposing death penalty
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Through the night time hours leading to the scheduled execution of Eric Wrinkles, prayers will be offered for him and the families directly affected by the murders he committed.
The execution is scheduled before dawn on Dec. 11 at the Indiana prison facility in Michigan City. The prayer vigil at Holy Redeemer Church in Evansville will begin with a service at 8 p.m. CST.
“As members of the Diocese of Evansville and our community witness against the execution of Eric Wrinkles and all state-sponsored killings, we are mindful of the unimaginable pain and suffering the families of Tony and Natalie Fulkerson, and Debbie Wrinkles have endured,” said the text of a poster announcing the prayer vigil. “We ask that you hold their families in prayer.”
The poster was prepared by Emily Snipes, who coordinates pro-life activities at Catholic Charities.
“Everyone is welcome and the service will center on praying for the dignity of all human life, including those involved in this tragedy, and for Eric Wrinkles,” Snipes said.
Wrinkles was convicted in 1994 for killing his wife Debbie and her brother and sister-in-law, Tony and Natalie Fulkerson. Among the most vocal opponents of the death penalty in Evansville is Mary Winnecke, Natalie’s mother.
The poster announcing the prayer vigil also includes a quotation from Winnecke: “Executions are done by the state in the name of the people. I do not want the state to take his life in my name.”
Winnecke was also cited by Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger, who submitted an opinion piece to daily newspapers throughout Indiana.
“Mary Winnecke, a grieving mother, continues to be a champion for the cause of abolishing the death penalty in the State of Indiana! May the State of Indi-ana and its leadership heed her pleas!” Bishop Get-telfinger wrote.
He acknowledged that the state “has a constitutional right to execute Eric Wrinkles in order to protect its citizens and to prevent this man from ever committing such a crime again,” but asked, “are there not other ways to exact justice for capital crimes without execution?”
He continued, “On the ‘frontier’ of our own land many years ago, execution provided quick and final justice. That may have been necessary to protect its citizens then . . . .”
But he said Indiana “is no longer the frontier” and “Indi-ana citizens can be protected without executing its criminals.” He said the state is able “to protect its citizens from murderous criminals by separating them from society by sentencing them to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”
The prayer vigil will be held in the Adoration Chapel located at Holy Redeemer Church, 918 West Mill Road in Evansville. A prayer service will be held at 8 p.m. CST.
Volunteers will then lead an hourly prayer in the chapel from 10 p.m. Dec. 10 until 7 a.m. on Dec. 11.
For information, contact Emily Snipes, (812) 423-5456 or esnipes@evdio.org