Letter to the AG Urging Not to Seek Death Penalty in Milgrim-Lischinsky Case

August 20, 2025 - The following letter was written to Attorney General Bondi.

Dear Attorney General Bondi,

As the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Washington office of the Reform Jewish movement encompassing 2 million Reform Jews, 2000 rabbis, and 825 congregations, 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. Even in this most heinous circumstance, we cannot endorse the further taking of human life.

Sarah was a product of our Reform movement, growing up at a Reform congregation in Kansas City. She embodied the values that are central to Reform Judaism: peacebuilding, a commitment to healing our earth, and a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.

Yaron shared a similar dedication to repairing what is broken in our world. That his life was also brutally taken causes us no end of pain. Sarah and Yaron’s already impactful lives had the potential to significantly shape the world for the better.

Notably, the effect of hate crimes radiates far beyond the direct victims to the broader, targeted community of which they were a part. Sarah and Yaron’s murders outside the Capital Jewish Museum sent justifiable fear throughout the Jewish community in Washington and nationwide – amidst already rising concerns about virulent antisemitism across the U.S.

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. For the past 2,000 years, with the rarest of exceptions, Jewish courts have refused to punish criminals by depriving them of their lives. Both in concept and in practice, Jewish tradition found capital punishment repugnant, and we continue to do so today. Studies show the inequitable application of capital punishment among various racial groups as well as the inevitable, unacceptable, and irreversible error rates. And while there is some diversity of opinion among American Jews on this issue as on all issues, 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.

Sincerely, 
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner