Dennis Fritz lost 11 years of his life.

Mr. Fritz, who now lives in Kansas City, was sentenced to life in prison in 1988 after being charged with the murder of a woman who worked at a bar in Ada, Okla., he’d been known to frequent. Police claimed that hair found at the crime scene had been microscopically analyzed and determined to be his.

It wasn’t until 1999 that further DNA testing revealed the hair was not Mr. Fritz’s but actually belonged to the man who had been the state’s main witness at Mr. Fritz’s trial. Mr. Fritz was freed at last — but not before years of injustice took away his chance to see his daughter grow up and to otherwise live his life as he should have been able to.

Unfortunately, statistics show Mr. Fritz isn’t alone in being wrongly charged with murder and suffering severe consequences because of it. Some have been exonerated only after being put to death for crimes they allegedly committed — and it’s in light of this that First Christian Church in St. Joseph has hosted Mr. Fritz and others with similar stories who shared about their experiences.

In addition, the church voted Sunday to pass a resolution calling for a moratorium on executions of Missouri inmates on death row. This resolution supports a bill now in the Missouri legislature — HB 1870 — sponsored by Rep. Bill Deeken of Jefferson City. If the bill is passed, no executions will take place in Missouri until 2012. And during this moratorium period, a committee will study the details of cases in which the death penalty has been sought and will recommend remedies for deficiencies it finds.

“In Matthew 25, Jesus specifically mentions ministry to people in prison as ministry to him,” says the Rev. Chase Peeples, pastor of First Christian. “In our society, there is perhaps no group that could be considered 'the least of these’ more than people in prison, especially those in death row. Without approving of any crimes that may have been committed, we can declare that because of God’s love for them, each person on death row deserves a fair trial, competent legal counsel and access to the latest in DNA technology.”

This is a bipartisan issue, and both people against the death penalty and those in favor of it can support the moratorium — simply because how the death penalty is carried out now isn’t just, adds Reva Fields, chairwoman of First Christian’s outreach committee.

“Everyone realizes there are some flaws in the system,” she says. “Over the years, I’ve always had some concerns about innocent people being affected.”

The church member who brought the issue before the outreach committee and suggested the congregation be given an opportunity to voice support for the moratorium was David Tushaus, the chairman of Missouri Western State University’s criminal justice and legal studies department.

“Even the American Bar Association says the death penalty is not justly and equitably administered,” he says, adding that a disproportionate number of death-row inmates are minorities, poor and can’t afford legal help. “Any injustice is a problem, but when you have injustice that involves the ultimate penalty, it matters even more.”

More than 70 church members voted in favor of the resolution, and two voted against it, the Rev. Peeples says. The resolution will now be sent to the campaign headquarters for the moratorium and to Sen. Charlie Shields.

Mr. Tushaus — who is willing to make presentations to any other churches or organizations interested in bringing the resolution before their members — notes that this isn’t the first time a bill for a death-penalty moratorium has been introduced in the Missouri legislature. Often it takes several introductions for a bill to gain enough momentum to be passed, he says — but he hopes this will be the year this bill does.

“I think this is an issue all religions that care about justice should take a stand on,” he says.

Lifestyles reporter Erin Wisdom can be reached at ewisdom@npgco.com.