DPI Podcast 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Emmjolee Mendoza Waters on the Work of the Catholic Mobilizing Network

In the September 2026 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Emmjolee Mendoza Waters, Director of Death Penalty Abolition for Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), a national organization mobilizing people of Catholic faith and moral conviction around issues of criminal justice, including death penalty abolition and restorative justice. Ms. Mendoza Waters discusses why the Catholic Church opposes the death penalty and calls believers to seek justice in ways that protect society, hold people accountable, and care for victims and survivors, while also respecting the dignity of every human person.

Their conversation begins with the history of the Catholic Mobilizing Network. Ms. Mendoza Waters explains that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched the Catholic campaign to end the use of the death penalty in 2005. A collection of activists, murder victim family members, representatives from prominent Catholic organizations, and religious women came together to brainstorm how they could support this campaign in 2008. As a result, the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development launched Catholic Mobilizing Network in January 2009. Currently, one in five people in the United States is Catholic, and Catholics make up about 28% of Congress. CMN wants to help activate and mobilize these voices to give Catholics opportunities to let their elected leaders know where they stand. A significant part of CMN’s work is connecting Catholics who care about this issue with one another and with opportunities to take action in their own communities. “When Catholics speak out, when they pray, when they educate their communities, when they contact elected officials, they can help bring about change,” Ms. Mendoza Waters said.

One program of CMN, Next Gen for Justice, is a series of college tours focused on bringing education about the death penalty directly to young people, including speakers who have been directly impacted by the death penalty. Ms. Mendoza Waters’ direct conversations with youth have shown her that many who support the death penalty think in terms of accountability for those who brought harm to victims. However, she says, “accountability does not require execution. We can care deeply about victims and survivors without supporting another act of violence. We can protect society without taking another life.”

The conversation shifts to the CMN’s attention on Ohio and Florida as both states have been at the center of death penalty changes. CMN’s work in Ohio has been a combination of education, advocacy, and spreading awareness about the death penalty as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who is Catholic, has been encouraged to commute the sentences of people on death row. More than 100 people remain on Ohio’s death row, and Ms. Mendoza Waters believes Ohio is an example of how advocacy work takes time to influence change. Florida’s executions have been increasing at an “alarming” rate under Governor Ron DeSantis, also a Catholic. CMN has been working to amplify Catholic voices in Florida to gain national attention to the issue.

What Ms. Mendoza Waters wants for Catholics and other people of faith to understand is that “this issue asks us some really fundamental questions about what we believe.” One of the most important things for Ms. Mendoza Waters is that “we can care deeply about victims and survivors, take harm seriously, and believe in accountability while also recognizing the dignity of the person who caused that harm.” So even if someone is still unsure where they stand on the death penalty, she would encourage them “to learn more, listen to people who have been directly impacted, and really reflect on what is our faith calling us to believe about the dignity of every human life.”