For decades, public support for the death penalty in the United States has been declining. But in recent years, the number of executions has risen sharply—and a majority of Americans still say they support capital punishment.
What’s needed, argues Atlantic staff writer Elizabeth Bruenig, is not just a deeper understanding of forgiveness, but the actual practice of mercy. Bruenig has written extensively on the death penalty in a series of articles and essays.
On this episode, she reflects on how witnessing executions—some botched, all harrowing—has shaped her thinking about capital punishment.
For further reading: 
<ul>
 <li> </li>
<li>Elizabeth Bruenig’s July cover story for <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/07/death-row-executions-witness/682891/">The Atlantic </a>
</li>

 <li> </li>
<li>David Bentley Hart on <a href="https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/christians-death-penalty">Christianity and the death penalty</a>
</li>
 <li>The Editors on <a href="https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/dignity-death-penalty">Pope Francis’s declaration</a> on capital punishment</li>

</ul>

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Ep. 153 - It’s Just Wrong

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