BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Religious leaders are trying to build support for ending Louisiana’s use of the death penalty, a proposal that has repeatedly failed to gain the backing of state lawmakers.

Two dozen clergy representing Catholic and Protestant churches spoke Thursday on the Louisiana Capitol steps in favor of proposals by Republican Sen. Dan Claitor and Democratic Rep. Terry Landry to eliminate executions in the state.

Read Rep. Landry’s bill here. 

House lawmakers spurned similar proposals for the last two years.

The Rev. Dan Krutz, executive director of the Louisiana Interchurch Conference, says the church leaders aren’t giving up and will return year after year in their bid to end capital punishment.