Beruflich Dokumente
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Stoppit!
The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions
Fall 2005
Action Alert..........................................................................................................................2
Ohio Moratorium Campaign: Fall 2005 Update.................................................................2
Meting out Justice with Violence is Never Moral................................................................3
By August Pacetti.............................................................................................................3
Physician speaks out against Lethal Injection.....................................................................4
By Molly Wieser..............................................................................................................4
Reflections of an Abolitionist on Jury Duty........................................................................5
By David Frickey.............................................................................................................5
Hot off the Presses: Capital Juries and Blind Justice..........................................................6
1000 Executions...................................................................................................................6
The Journey of Hope............................................................................................................6
By Beth Wood .................................................................................................................6
Let’s Shut It Down...............................................................................................................8
By Molly Wieser..............................................................................................................8
John Hicks Found Friend in OTSE Member.......................................................................9
By Marty May .................................................................................................................9
I would like to get involved with Ohioans To Stop Executions ........................................10
Friends of OTSE................................................................................................................10
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cumulative effect of the public education The Ohio Moratorium Campaign meets
of jury member. bi-monthly via conference call the
second Thursday at 6:30pm ~ the next
At 111 resolutions, Ohio stands 9th in the scheduled meeting is November 10th, for
country behind North Carolina 1078, call in information contact Eunice at
California 434, New York 328, Texas Eunice@ijpc-cincinnati.org.
275, New Jersey 178, Pennsylvania 162,
Missouri 151, Alabama 113. But watch Meting out Justice with
out – Tennessee is on our heels!
Violence is Never Moral
2005 stands as a year, which ought to
call Ohio to a moratorium. Events
By August Pacetti
throughout the year beg the question… On Sept. 27, I was among 150 people,
Why do we kill ? mostly students and teachers from nine
Cleveland-area Catholic high schools,
Finally after years of appeals one death who gathered outside the prison in
row inmate enjoys the success of a 2002 Lucasville for a prayerful witness
US Supreme Court ruling. Darrell against the execution of Dale Ashworth,
Gumm of Hamilton county became the which took place that morning. Despite
first Ohio victory under Atkins the sorrow and disappointment I felt, I
[unconstitutional to execute the mentally also recognized my emotions of
retarded] How many others are still helplessness and anger that this violence
sitting on death row? was carried out in my name and in the
name of justice - a justice entirely
Derrick Jamison of Hamilton County different from the one I teach to my
becomes the 119th exoneration in the US! seniors in their social justice theology
Was he the only innocent man? course.
Ohio saw our 4th execution “volunteer”
with Dale Ashworth – what are Catholic social teaching maintains that
conditions like on death row that men justice can be achieved only through
are waiving entitled legal remedies? building human relationships of love, not
through revenge or further violence.
Ohio is looking at possibly executing an After the van carried Ashworth's body
innocent man in January – John Spirko away, students and teachers gathered in a
…. How much doubt is enough to sway circle to share reactions to the
the Clemency Board? A strong alibi and experience. I felt profound hope as I
a case with no physical evidence can go listened to young people find fault with
through two clemency hearings and still the logic behind Ohio's attempt to teach
result in a recommendation against that killing is wrong by killing someone
clemency. ourselves.
Please consider becoming a part of this Hearing their convictions led me to the
winning effort – Join the Ohio realization that at some point in their
Moratorium Campaign today! lives, they experienced love to the extent
that they could find it absolutely
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incomprehensible for justice and stain on the face of medicine”1, cites the
violence to be compatible. That is our American Medical Association (AMA),
challenge, Ohio: to choose love, life and which prohibits doctors from directly
nonviolence. We must embrace an participating by:
alternative to capital punishment. Please
answer this call by letting Gov. Bob Taft Injecting lethal drugs
know you reject all violent crime and, Inspecting or maintaining
hence, support a moratorium on the use injection devices
of the death penalty in Ohio. Supervising staff who perform
injections
Pacetti teaches at Padua Franciscan Ordering lethal drugs
High School. This letter originally Selecting intravenous sites
appeared
Placing intravenous lines
in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on
Saturday, October 8, 2005. Monitoring vital signs
Pronouncing the prisoner dead.
was a young girl, as her mother had been stabbed herself. She pretended to be
murdered. My first reaction was to dead. While waiting, she heard the
exclaim, murdered? But, then I house ransacked and listened as her
remembered where I was and to whom I father took his last breath. During this
spoke. You see, despite the tremendous part of the story, her voice broke and
sorrow collectively suffered by these tears ran down her face. Even having
people, they are not an angry, sad, told her story so many times and
vengeful group. Sorrow is not the experienced healing, she still grieved the
countenance they wear. Rather they are loss of her father. As a Brethren
joyful. They are just as diverse as any minister, he had opposed the death
other group. Somehow, they have found penalty and had told SueZann that if he
the link from violence to healing. I say were ever murdered, he would not
link because it is not an ending, this approve of the death penalty for his
healing. So often you hear the call for murderer. When SueZann was told that
retaliatory violence as a way to bring the State was pursuing the death penalty
“closure” for the victim’s families. for her family, she said no. She knew
These victim’s families, without that more violence wouldn’t bring back
exception, abhor the word closure. They her father and it wasn’t what he would
do not believe that such a thing exists. have wanted.
In fact, Dale Recinella, a prison chaplain
from Florida, tells of a victim’s family So, after all the pain, why do these
member who waited a lifetime to find people continue to open wounds and
closure in an execution. After the speak to others? As SueZann said to me,
execution, she stood up and screamed victims are sold a bill of goods. They
over and over again, “IS THAT IT?” are told that if there is a retaliatory
She had bought the lie that a life for a murder, they will feel better. Isn’t this
life would bring her peace. the justification that you hear all the
time? We owe a death penalty
Despite the fact that the group was on conviction to the families. The Journey
the road to healing, it was obvious to me says no to this in a powerful voice.
that their loss still caused a great deal of Their voice is essential in neutralizing
pain. One member of the group, this the retribution argument. Journey
SueZann Bosler, has participated in members feel that reopening wounds is
every Journey since the first one in worth it so that their voices are heard
Indiana in 1993. She has told her story and heeded. Bud Welch, father of Julie
numerous times since then. She was Welch, who was killed in the Oklahoma
what she terms a PK (preacher’s kid) City Bombing, puts it best when he notes
and was used to strangers coming to her that a revelation came when he saw the
home for help. So when the doorbell same pain in Tim McVeigh’s father’s
rang one evening, she didn’t think eyes that he saw in his own. More
anything of it. She heard her father killing only spreads the pain.
answer the door but then heard a strange
sound. Upon coming to investigate, she I make these reflections after having
witnessed her father being stabbed to completed a 17-day speaking tour
death. She rushed to help and was (October 14-30) with the Journey of
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Hope in Texas. Journey speaking teams because of litigation which showed, and
spoke all over Texas and reached continues to show, that a) Ohio was
millions of people through the media and never justified in building a prison for
more than 10,000 face to face. Journey 500 supermax prisoners - there are less
of Hope...from Violence to Healing is an than 50 supermax prisoners in Ohio right
organization that is led by murder victim now, the rest of the OSP prisoners are
family members that conducts public classified at lower security levels, and b)
education speaking tours and addresses Ohio has long been in the habit of filling
alternatives to the death penalty. Journey these unjustified cells arbitrarily in a
"storytellers" come from all walks of life transparent effort to look less the fool for
and represent the full spectrum and building the useless prison.
diversity of faith, color and economic After years of these costly court battles,
situation. They are real people who Ohio is no longer permitted to put a
know first hand the aftermath of the prisoner in this living mausoleum of a
insanity and horror of murder. They prison without some due process,
recount their tragedies and their according the United States Supreme
struggles to heal as a way of opening Court. In their infinite creativity, Ohio
dialogue on the death penalty in schools, prison administrators have found a way
colleges, churches and other venues. The to circumvent this obstacle by dreaming
Journey spotlights murder victim's up a raft of promises to prisoners while
family members who choose not to seek repeating these promises before a federal
revenge, and instead select the path of judge. OSP will be a “multi-purpose
love and compassion for all of humanity. facility,” not a supermax prison, if these
Forgiveness is seen as strength and as a promises are honored.
way of healing. The greatest resources There is no reason to believe that the
of the Journey are the people who are a judge quite believed Ohio’s promises.
part of it. Next year the Journey will be The department has a long history of
held in Virginia. In addition to speakers, administrative failures in relation to
they are always in need of activists to OSP, death row, and the Lucasville
help with logistics, etc. If you are prison that lies at the start of this trail of
interested in knowing more and/or tears. If the judge had found Ohio’s
joining to Journey, go to: promises entirely credible, he would
http://www.journeyofhope.org/pages/ind have denied the prisoners’ motion for a
ex.htm permanent injunction prohibiting the
transfer. Instead, Ohio has been given
adequate rope with which to hang itself.
Let’s Shut It Down He will undo the move if Ohio treats
death row prisoners who, according to
By Molly Wieser prison administrators, are a largely
Ohio DRC officials are starting the peaceful crew, as supermax prisoners,
transfer of death row prisoners to the denying them adequate access to legal
Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP); a move counsel and privileges such as time out
they state is for the purpose of saving of their tiny, individual cells.
money. This supermax prison has been Ohio has lost other opportunities to save
about half empty for years.This is money on prison administration, so this
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would not come as a jarring despite the me back, greeting cards and post cards I
lack of prisoners there, an administrative sent him. Many times he would send me
error that has needlessly cost Ohio an article he had read in a Christian
taxpayers millions beyond those funds magazine. He was even thoughtful
used to construct the prison in the first enough to send me a few greeting cards
place. when I feel sure funds were limited. He
Three Ohio death row inmates have has 2 sons, 3 grandchildren, 3 sisters and
already attempted suicide as the transfer 2 brothers. He wrote me that his parents
gains momentum. Perhaps they know love all their children unconditionally.
that Ohio’s supermax prison was never He enjoys listening to the radio,
intended to be anything but a form of especially jazz and PBS, football,
torture in violation of international baseball, the Final Four of March
human rights law that prohibits long- Madness, jumping rope and getting fresh
term solitary confinement because of its air and sunshine when walking outside
well-documented effect on mental his cell on the Honor Block. He shared a
health. In all likelihood they know about lot of scripture verses with me but I
the Ohio supermax prisoner recently would say that one of his favorites is
found bloody and beaten with his hands Matthew 25:36-45. It has been a
cuffed behind his back, and about the pleasure to know John.
prison doctor who was fired for
questioning the incident.
Ohio is starting the transfer of death row
prisoners to the Ohio State Penitentiary;
a move it states is for the purpose of
saving money. Let’s shut it down,
instead.
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Activist United
Loren Bondurant
740-427-6949
Kenyon College, Gamgier, OH 43022
activists.united@kenyon.edu
Central State - North
Student Affairs Center, Kenyon College
Kenyon College, Tuesdays 10pm
Amnesty International
Michael Manley
mmanley@ccad.edu
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