William McSherry lived next door to the couple on East Second Street in Frederick .

The McSherrys' children didn't want to explain the horrible circumstances of William's death until they could see the couple in person.

"Our son had called us," Marian McSherry said. "He wanted to know which undertaker we wanted to use -- we thought he'd had a heart attack."

William McSherry, a retired surveyor, had been bludgeoned to death by a man who forced him to write a personal check. It was the second murder the man had committed in two weeks, Marian McSherry said.

Throughout the trial, McSherry and her husband, who has since died, remained steadfastly opposed to a death sentence. They were and are lifelong Catholics and longtime members of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church.

"It was considered, but not by us," Marian McSherry said. "We didn't believe in capital punishment. It doesn't do any good, and it wouldn't bring (William) back. The larger issue is that the longer that man lives, the longer he has time to make his peace with God."

The man who murdered her brother-in-law will remain in prison for the rest of his life.

McSherry, who has testified against the death penalty before state legislators in Annapolis, has followed news of Virginia's plans to execute John Allen Muhammad, the Washington-area sniper responsible for 10 deaths in the Washington area in 2002.

Her opposition to the death penalty hasn't wavered, even in the case of Muhammad who has killed more than one person.

For many who oppose capital punishment, like McSherry, religious faith plays a central role.

Others who oppose the death penalty argue it is simply too easy for the state to make a mistake. They point out new DNA evidence has exonerated inmates facing capital punishment across the country. Others oppose execution on the basis that is practiced unevenly across the country and is more likely to be used against minorities.

Even in the case of Muhammad, anti-death penalty activists maintain that more killing sends the wrong message about violence and is not a deterrent.

"The first thing anybody feels in this situation, especially given the particularly heinous nature of these crimes, is the desire to reach out with compassion toward the families," said the Rev. John Deckenback, a Frederick resident and conference minister of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ. "But then the question I've got to ask myself is, 'Will the taking of another life really bring closure?'"

It won't, he said. "How does more killing relieve the grief over the killing over a loved one? It is not what we should be saying about the sanctity of life."

Tim Hanavan, executive director of the Maryland Ecumenical Council and a member of Maryland's Interfaith Coalition to End the Death Penalty, also said the severity and number of Muhammad's crimes do not change the principles behind his opposition to capital punishment.

"I think we have to distinguish between the acts of the person and the overall sanctity of life," he said. "The acts of one person do not change the overall sanctity of life, even in this case, which comes as close to evil on Earth as anything we see. And to the extent that it is evil, deciding not to end another life is very important."

The law ensures Muhammad will never hurt someone else or himself. Therefore, Hanavan said, there is no compelling practical reason to pursue capital punishment.

According to Catholic doctrine, taking a life is permissible only in self-defense or when someone is a threat to society, said Monsignor Stuart Swetland of Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg . This is not the case with those already incarcerated, serving a sentence of life without chance of parole, he said.

Mount St. Mary's has an active on-campus student group, the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, said Swetland, a former naval officer and professor of Christian ethics.

The taking of a life through execution by the state should be particularly disconcerting for a Christian, he said.

"There is nothing wrong from a legal perspective in making a legal judgment, but two things -- final judgment and vengeance -- are to be left to God," Swetland said.

None of those interviewed for this story were present in Virginia for Muhammad's execution.