In Memorium: Father Jim Sunderland
CADP fondly pays tribute to Fr.
Jim Sunderland,
who passed away in January at the age of
81. Fr. Jim was well-known in the Denver
area for his work on behalf of peace and
justice and his anti-death penalty activism.
In 1984 Fr. Jim, along with others, established
the Colorado Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty, the predecessor organization of
CADP.
Jim Sunderland was born and raised in Denver.
He served in the Army Air Corps during World
War II and attended West Point before deciding
to become a Jesuit priest, a decision inspired
by a Jesuit teacher he had had at Regis High
School.
In 1981, Fr. Jim returned to his native
Colorado, having been gone since 1943. It
was then that he met Charles
Milligan, who,
along with Rollie Rogers, had been fighting
against the death penalty in Colorado for
years. Jim credits Charles with getting him
involved in the movement, calling Charles
his inspiration and mentor.
In 1983, Fr. Jim asked to be relieved of
his duties as a hospital chaplain to become
the Diocese of Denver's first fulltime prison
chaplain. Through this work he came to know
prison inmates and those involved in prison
reform and the death penalty abolition movement.
He served on the Board of the National Coalition
to Abolish the Death Penalty.
During this time, Jim testified on behalf
of a half a dozen men facing the possibility
of death. In 1997, he worked for clemency
for Gary Davis, and when that failed, organized
a vigil the night of Gary's execution.
Although Jim officially retired in the late
90s, he continued to be an eloquent voice
for peace and justice, a voice that will
surely be missed!
