It said many responses stressed the need for the church to explore ways of "more widely exercising mercy, clemency and indulgence towards new unions".
He said he had read the jury's note as a "plea... to exercise particular mercy".
Several such exercises of mercy are recorded in various Asian kingdoms.
"When we as a community or as state legislators or as politicians attempt to reprimand or condemn a judge like this for exercising discretion and mercy … it will ultimately have a chilling effect," said Sajid Khan, a deputy public defender in Santa Clara county.
He said, "I would rather have a Sister of Mercy exercising whatever influence she can over that department than some feminist floozy who is an abortion advocate".
The execution, the first in France for two years, and the twentieth in the last 20 years, took place a few hours after President Giscard D'Estaing had refused to exercise his prerogative of mercy.
The Sovereign exercises the "prerogative of mercy", which is used to pardon convicted offenders or reduce sentences.
The President of Rwanda is the head of state, and has broad powers including creating policy in conjunction with the Cabinet, exercising the prerogative of mercy, commanding the armed forces, negotiating and ratifying treaties, signing presidential orders, and declaring war or a state of emergency.
McArdle, also serving a 25-year term over the Docklands bombing which killed two men in February 1996 as the first IRA ceasefire collapsed, was freed after Peter Mandelson, the Northern Ireland secretary, asked the Queen to exercise the royal prerogative of mercy.
