---
title: 'NEW VOICES: Four Who Experienced a Family Murder Speak About the Death Penalty'
description: 'Kathryn Gaines, Rita Shoulders, Ruth Lowe and Victoria Cox all had someone in their family murdered but all believe that a death sentence for the killers…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-voices-four-who-experienced-a-family-murder-speak-about-the-death-penalty'
section: news
date: '2011-08-12T19:26:58-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:30:26-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

**Kathryn Gaines**, **Rita Shoulders**, **Ruth Lowe** and **Victoria Cox** all had someone in their family murdered but all believe that a death sentence for the killers would only deepen their personal wounds. Shoulders lost her sister to murder; Cox lost her brother; Lowe also lost her brother; and Gaines experienced the death of her eldest grandchild a year ago. All four women are members of St. Martin de Porres Church in West Louisville, **Kentucky**, and have participated in videos to relate their experienes. Ruth Lowe said of the man who killed her brother, "I’m learning to forgive. And even if I had the chance I wouldn’t want him executed. It would do nothing for me; it would do nothing for the rest of my family. To take his life would make no sense.” Kathryn Gaines said, "You cannot bring a life back by taking away another life. It hurts a whole family." The videos of the four women's stories can be found [**here**](https://www.youtube.com/user/KCADP). The women's stories are also being told in a series of articles in *The Record*, a Catholic newspaper published in central Kentucky.

(M. McAllister, "[Four women work against the death penalty](https://www.archlou.org/article298572c4681863.htm)," July 28, 2011; "Women cling to faith despite tragedy," August 4, 2011; and "[Women see values as cure for violence](https://enews.therecordnewspaper.org/WebProject.asp)," August 11, 2011 in The Record; photo from the Archdiocese of Louisville). See [**Victims**](/victims-and-death-penalty?did=573&scid=62), [**New Voices,**](/new-voices?did=482&scid=16) and [**Religion**](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/religious-statements). The videos were produced by Rev. Patrick Delahanty, the sacramental coordinator at St. Martin's.