The criminal repented of his crime, and was absolved by the religious authorities.

~ Even the worst criminal examined his own conscience when faced with the actuality of execution. He repented, and accepted a penance (even a penance of death imposed on him by the legitimate power of the State) which prepared him for God's perfect judgment.

The State executed criminals with the hope of redemption.

~ The authority of the State, sanctioned by the Church, is to execute the criminal with love and hope of redemption. But for this practice to be truly authentic, the society must believe in the existence of a transcendent order of justice, which the State has an obligation to protect.

“Belief in the immortality of the soul has permitted Catholicism to formulate the problem of Capital Punishment in very different terms, and justify it.”

- Albert Camus