BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops is asking Gov. Bobby Jindal to halt a state execution planned for the Christian holy day of Ash Wednesday.
Christopher Sepulvado is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Feb. 13 for the beating and scalding death of his 6-year-old stepson two decades ago.
The bishops group, which represents the seven Catholic dioceses of Louisiana, says the execution at the start of the somber Christian season of Lent "would be inconsistent with the Lenten call for reconciliation and redemption and an unnecessary tragic irony."
Jindal's office didn't immediately respond Tuesday about whether the governor, who is Catholic, will consider the bishops' request.
Sepulvado's lawyers have asked a judge to stop the execution, claiming lack of information about what drug combination the state will use.
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