E. Christian Brugger is the J. Francis Cardinal Stafford Professor of Moral Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary.
"“This book ranks as one of the clearest and most elegant statements of Catholic moral teaching on the death penalty. This volume should be included in every Catholic college library or seminary, and will be a valuable addition to all graduate libraries.” —Choice “[Brugger] very skillfully describes the intellectual and sociological changes which have assembled to alter the course of the Church’s approach to capital punishment.” —American Catholic Studies ""E. Christian Brugger demonstrates how the Catholic position on capital punishment has shifted not only from yes to virtually never, but also from the category of just retribution to the category of a society's legitimate self-defense.""—Commonweal"