The suspected gunman who shot and killed two Israeli embassy staffers in May should not face the death penalty, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, wrote to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this month that Elias Rodriguez, 31, would be eligible for the death penalty if found guilty in the May 21 murders of Sarah Milgrim, 26, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30, as they left the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
“I write to you with a heavy heart to urge that in holding accountable the murderer of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, you do not seek the death penalty,” Pesner wrote. “Even in this most heinous circumstance, we cannot endorse the further taking of human life.”
“Despite the pain of Sarah and Yaron’s murders, and despite the hateful motivation behind their deaths, we believe that the death penalty is a stain upon civilization and our religious conscience,” the letter stated. “Both in concept and in practice, Jewish tradition found capital punishment repugnant, and we continue to do so today.”
Pesner added that “the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community and communal institutions are aligned in rejecting the death penalty.”
“We pray that as you work to hold the perpetrator accountable for his actions, you ensure he is both punished for his crimes and is never again a threat to Jews or anyone else. As you do so, do not compound the already deep pain by pursuing the taking of another life,” he wrote.
Video allegedly shows Rodriguez shouting “Free Palestine” while being arrested by police after the incident. A federal jury indicted Rodriguez in August, accusing him of murdering a foreign official, hate crimes, gun offenses, first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill, according to the Justice Department.
