Bishop condemns death penalty

Wednesday, June 10, 1998 | 10:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Bishop Phillip F. Straling of the Catholic Diocese of Reno has issued a statement condemning the death penalty as the state readies for Saturday's scheduled execution of a 25-year-old man who has been convicted of murder.

The bishop said the death penalty is "not the solution" in punishing criminals. "Life without the possibility of parole is an option that is more humane, morally acceptable and equally effective in protecting society from the offender, and that is the goal."

Alvaro Calambro pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death for the killing of two people at a U-Haul business in Reno. He and Duc Cong Huynh went to the business where they tied up and beat to death Peggy Crawford, 37, and her co-worker Keith Christopher, 21, during a $2,400 robbery.

Huyng also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death but committed suicide in prison.

"The crime and violence of which Mr. Calambro stands convicted is rightly and rigorously to be condemned," Straling said. But he added that the state "should eschew the violence of execution."

Although Calambro has resisted appeals in his behalf, a hearing was set for today in Reno on a petition filed by his mother to stop the execution.

There are also petitions on file with the Nevada Supreme Court and U.S. District Court in Reno.

While the bishop urged an end to executions, the survivors of Calambro's victims said in newspaper interviews that they want to see the death penalty carried out.

"We can't put this behind us until there is justice," Clarence Crawford, Peggy's father, said.

George Christopher, Keith's brother, said he will attend the execution. He doesn't look forward to it but "it's something that will give the family closure."

Straling said during the past 30 years there has been a "rising tide of violence and a growing disregard for the value of human life in our society: abortion, euthanasia, drive-by shootings, road rage, the re-institution of the death penalty, etc."

He noted the growth in schoolyard shootings, saying, "As the level of violence has increased, so has the church's awareness deepened that if life is sacred, it is sacred on every level of conception to natural death."

"The United States is one of the few places where the death penalty is an acceptable means of punishment and yet we also have one of the highest rates of violent crime," the bishop said. His diocese covers 13 counties in Northern Nevada and includes an estimated 55,000 to 60,000 Catholics.

"All life is to be valued and even the state, which has an obligation to protect its citizens, should not use violence to achieve this end when other options are available," Straling said.

At the state's most recent execution, that of Richard Moran in 1996, the bishop asked Gov. Bob Miller to stay the death penalty. A church spokesman said Moran had asked for clemency, while in this case Calambro has declined to ask for mercy. If Calambro changes his mind, the bishop would probably write a letter to the governor, the spokesman said.

There will be a prayer service at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church in Carson City 2 1/2 hours before the scheduled execution. A peaceful protest outside the state prison where the execution is to take place also is planned.