- Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas rang its bells 600 times in honor of the 600th execution by the state of Texas since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Bells began to toll about 6 p.m. Thursday at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church. For an hour and a half, they rang, 600 bells in recognition of the 600th execution by the state of Texas since the reestablishment of the death penalty in 1976.
Edward Busby was put to death at 8:11 p.m. for the 2004 abduction and murder of Laura Lee Crane, a Fort Worth mother and former education professor. The milestone execution was delayed by an appeal to the Supreme Court and his clemency petition.
Prior to the event, Rev. Ryan Wager told The Dallas Morning News what this event meant to Oak Lawn United Methodist Church’s congregation. He said the church aims to stand up for justice and share a message of God’s love, illustrating to the larger community, “death is not the answer, that the gospel teaches God’s love and ability to reconcile and not to judge someone by one specific event outweighs ending a cycle of violence with violence.”
Wager said since the April 30 execution of James Broadnax, the death penalty has weighed on the hearts of the church’s community. In search of a way to “speak love more clearly,” leaders settled upon this event. The bells were chosen because they would be heard throughout Oak Lawn…