San Gabriel Region Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala called for reform of the criminal justice system and an end to the death penalty, at an awards dinner where he was honored for his efforts against capital punishment.

"Violence is not our way, it is not God's way," said the bishop April 20 after accepting the 2004 Abolition Award during the 13th annual awards dinner of Death Penalty Focus at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

"My religious formation supports my belief and conviction that all have the right to life --- life with dignity that should be accorded to children of a gracious, merciful and loving Creator," he added.

Bishop Zavala serves as the Episcopal liaison to Prisons and Corrections for the California Catholic Conference, in which he has promoted the involvement of the church in providing pastoral care to crime victims, to prisoners, and support for their families.

The bishop supervised the distribution of an anti-death penalty video and curriculum to all Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and is present at prayer vigils prior to a California state execution. He advocates for models of restorative justice within Catholic and Latino communities, and serves as bishop president of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement.

Death Penalty Focus, a non-profit organization of 10,000 members, has been working to abolish capital punishment in the United States since its founding in 1988. Opposition to the death penalty continues to grow with increased evidence of flaws, injustices and racism surrounding the judicial system, said DPF leaders.

This year's awards winners included former first lady Rosalynn Carter for her ongoing public stand against state-sanctioned capital punishment. Film director Robert Wise ("The Sound of Music," "Westside Story") was honored for his film "I Want to Live," for which Susan Hayward won a Best Actress Oscar. Entertainer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte was honored for his lifetime commitment to advance human rights.

Aqeela Sherrills, creator of a truce between L.A. street gangs Crips and Bloods, was recognized with a humanitarian award, and attorney Robert Sanger was honored for his recent work to document the flaws and injustices of the death penalty system in California (published in the Santa Clara University Law Review). Actor Bradley Whitford from "The West Wing" served as master of ceremonies for the event that drew more than 600 people.

Carter said she has been "shocked" by the unfairness of the judicial system in which factors like race, income level and inadequate legal representation too often determine which inmates are assigned to death row. She urged a national moratorium on the death penalty until all states can examine these institutional biases. Carter also called on states to stop the execution of mentally ill inmates and juveniles as next steps towards abolishing the death penalty completely.