Fall 2005 Stoppit

Stoppit!

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Fall 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

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Action Alert The State of Ohio has scheduled one execution currently scheduled. Please check www.otse.org for updates. JOHN SPIRKO Delayed until January 19th All executions are at 10am at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. WHAT CAN I DO? Call Governor Taft to express your concern and ask for mercy in this case, at (614)466-3555. Write the Governor directly at 77 South High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper – educate your community about the murder being done in your names. See http://www.otse.org/emailletterstotheeditor.htm for guidelines. Download petitions at www.otse.org You may fax your letters and petitions to the Governor at (614)466-9354. Learn about the case. As information is available it will be posted on www.otse.org. For more information about John Spirko’s case visit www.johnspirko.com or see OTSE’s Spring newsletter http://www.otse.org/news.htm. Please visit www.otse.org and click on events to find events / efforts around Clemency Campaigns in your area. No event scheduled in your area? Create your own – start a petition drive; hold a prayer service; invite friends over to draft letters to the editor. Be creative – there is no end to the power of the people! The execution alert hotline will be updated as we gather new information. (888)565-4410.

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Ohio Moratorium Campaign: Fall 2005 Update Resolution by resolution, church-bychurch, city-by-city, Ohioans are building the capacity toward the realization of a moratorium in Ohio. Sarah Craft of Equal Justice USA joined the OTSE Annual Summit in October to help us envisage our next steps. Sarah’s message was a rallying support for the work completed and a energizing challenge for our future steps. Like Ohio, many states have chosen the resolution strategy – building on this method allows groups to collaborate statewide, stabilize the organizing structure and make allies at the national level. Our national allies at Amnesty International, Equal Justice USA, National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Information Center and Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty provide assets and resources. The resolution gathering strategy in Ohio, now totaling 111, has made marked progress with popular education. Every successful moratorium resolution builds momentum and contacts making the Ohio effort stronger and more diverse. This public education emphasis of the campaign yields significant results. Death sentence rates down! In 2005, Ohio had 4 death sentences. Compared to years past: 2004 – 5 death sentences; 2003- 11 death sentences; 2002 – 9 death sentences. There are various reasons for the drop in numbers, one of which is the

_______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

Stoppit! cumulative effect of the public education of jury member. At 111 resolutions, Ohio stands 9th in the country behind North Carolina 1078, California 434, New York 328, Texas 275, New Jersey 178, Pennsylvania 162, Missouri 151, Alabama 113. But watch out – Tennessee is on our heels! 2005 stands as a year, which ought to call Ohio to a moratorium. Events throughout the year beg the question… Why do we kill ? Finally after years of appeals one death row inmate enjoys the success of a 2002 US Supreme Court ruling. Darrell Gumm of Hamilton county became the first Ohio victory under Atkins [unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded] How many others are still sitting on death row? Derrick Jamison of Hamilton County becomes the 119th exoneration in the US! Was he the only innocent man? Ohio saw our 4th execution “volunteer” with Dale Ashworth – what are conditions like on death row that men are waiving entitled legal remedies? Ohio is looking at possibly executing an innocent man in January – John Spirko …. How much doubt is enough to sway the Clemency Board? A strong alibi and a case with no physical evidence can go through two clemency hearings and still result in a recommendation against clemency. Please consider becoming a part of this winning effort – Join the Ohio Moratorium Campaign today!

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Fall 2005 The Ohio Moratorium Campaign meets bi-monthly via conference call the second Thursday at 6:30pm ~ the next scheduled meeting is November 10th, for call in information contact Eunice at [email protected].

Meting out Justice with Violence is Never Moral By August Pacetti On Sept. 27, I was among 150 people, mostly students and teachers from nine Cleveland-area Catholic high schools, who gathered outside the prison in Lucasville for a prayerful witness against the execution of Dale Ashworth, which took place that morning. Despite the sorrow and disappointment I felt, I also recognized my emotions of helplessness and anger that this violence was carried out in my name and in the name of justice - a justice entirely different from the one I teach to my seniors in their social justice theology course. Catholic social teaching maintains that justice can be achieved only through building human relationships of love, not through revenge or further violence. After the van carried Ashworth's body away, students and teachers gathered in a circle to share reactions to the experience. I felt profound hope as I listened to young people find fault with the logic behind Ohio's attempt to teach that killing is wrong by killing someone ourselves. Hearing their convictions led me to the realization that at some point in their lives, they experienced love to the extent that they could find it absolutely

_______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

Stoppit! incomprehensible for justice and violence to be compatible. That is our challenge, Ohio: to choose love, life and nonviolence. We must embrace an alternative to capital punishment. Please answer this call by letting Gov. Bob Taft know you reject all violent crime and, hence, support a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Ohio.

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Fall 2005 stain on the face of medicine”1, cites the American Medical Association (AMA), which prohibits doctors from directly participating by:  Injecting lethal drugs  Inspecting or maintaining injection devices  Supervising staff who perform injections  Ordering lethal drugs  Selecting intravenous sites  Placing intravenous lines  Monitoring vital signs  Pronouncing the prisoner dead.

Pacetti teaches at Padua Franciscan High School. This letter originally appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Saturday, October 8, 2005.

Physician speaks out against Lethal Injection By Molly Wieser Doctors should: a. Do no harm. b. Object when other doctors do harm. c. Assist in administering lethal injection for the purpose of capital punishment. d. A& B, but not C e. C, but only if the capital punishment is actually legal. Dr. Jonathan Groner emphatically answers d: Doctors should do no harm and object when others do. Dr. Groner is the trauma medical director at Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and an associate professor of surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. His November, 2002 article in the British Medical Journal, “Lethal injection: a

Disturbingly, he also points to a survey which states that AMA members are largely unaware of the AMA prohibitions. In addition, not all doctors are members. This is problematic not just because of the death of the individual sentenced to execution, but because, as Groner states: When doctors enter the death chamber, they harm not only their relationship with their own patients but the relationships of all doctors with their patients. Doctors take an oath to be healers, not killers, and they should not participate in executions under any circumstance. Along with several litigators and Dr. Arthur Zitrin, a retired psychiatrist who lives on Long Island, Groner has worked in the following states to deter doctor participation in execution:

1

available online at http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/325/ 7371/1026

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Stoppit! Connecticut: The Connecticut execution protocol call for a "licensed and practicing physician" to certify the training of the person who inserts the IV catheters and the person who administers the drugs. These are both ethics violations. Action: Filed complaints with the Connecticut medical board. Georgia: Several physicians have been involved in the executions. Action: Wrote two articles about Georgia. A suit against the doctors is slowly making its way through the legal process Kentucky: The governor is a doctor who signed a death warrant. Action: Filed a complaint against the governor to the state medical board. The execution did not occur. The inmate is mentally retarded. Missouri: The protocol requires a doctor to insert a femoral central venous catheter for every lethal injection. Action: There is suit against lethal injection, where Dr. Groner will likely testify. The last execution (Johnston), a temporary stay was granted for these issues by a 3 judge panel of the 8th circuit but it was overturned. Dr. Groner is always looking for health care professionals who would be willing to support his cause by writing letters to the editor, introducing or supporting moratorium resolutions at health care professional organizations, and educating colleagues. He can be reached at: [email protected].

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Reflections of an Abolitionist on Jury Duty By David Frickey In late July, 2005, I was summoned to jury duty on the murder trial of Kristopher Morris. As I filled out the form about my life and views on the justice system, I though about this man's life on the line. I could have lied and said that I could vote for the death penalty if the circumstances were aggravating. However, my Catholic Christian training has told me that the end does not justify the means. When I was questioned about my views by the prosecutor, Scott Kirschman, and the defense attorney, Lewis Williams, I maintained my views about the death penalty. Mr. Williams was especially persistent about getting me to vote for the death penalty if the circumstances warranted it. I thought this was odd, because he was the defense attorney. Maybe he was trying to catch me in an inconsistency or maybe he was trying to get me on the jury so that I would vote against the death penalty. I do not know for sure. What I do know is that I stood my ground. I told him that as a Christian nation we do not have the right to execute people because they have killed. The judge, David Cain, commented that I was an honest person. I was excused from the jury. I later wondered what would happen if they could not find 12 jurors who would vote for the death penalty from the 77 who had been summoned. As I reflect now, I think that they would have probably just summoned more people. This experience has strengthened my resolve to continue to fight against the use of the death penalty.

_______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

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Hot off the Presses: Capital Juries and Blind Justice

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Fall 2005 growing. Visit our website to learn how to get involved.www.otse.org

The Journey of Hope

The Death Penalty Information Center has released a new report, "Blind Justice: Juries Deciding Life and Death with Only Half the Truth: How Death Penalty Jurors are Unfairly Selected, Manipulated, and Kept in the Dark" (October 2005).

By Beth Wood

“In capital cases, some citizens are often excluded because of their personal beliefs or race. For those who do serve, critical information is frequently withheld during the trial. The evidence jurors do hear is often unreliable,” explains Richard Dieter, executive director of DPIC. “Jurors’ emotions are played upon as the most gruesome aspects of the crime are displayed in graphic detail. The victim’s family is often pitted against the defendant and his family. When their service is over, jurors are largely ignored.”

My name is Stanley Allridge. I had a brother executed by the State of Texas in 1995 and another in 2004.

The full text of this groundbreaking report is available online at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/BlindJu sticeReport.pdf. The 2 page executive summary is at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/BlindJu sticeES.pdf. To order a hard copy, email Brenda Bowser-Soder at DPIC at [email protected] or call (202) 289-2275

My name is Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins. My sister witnessed the murder of her husband and unborn child. She scribbled a heart and U (love U) in the blood above her husband’s head as she bled to death.

My name is Juan Roberto Melendez. I spent 17 years, 8 months and 1 day on Florida’s death row for a murder I did not commit. Sharing of stories, what a powerful testament to the human condition. So the Journey began. As I returned to my room, I felt emotionally exhausted. After having heard 30 of these introductions the first night of the Texas Journey of Hope, I was overwhelmed at the tremendous amount of sorrow and pain that this group of people had suffered. The only other time that I can ever remember being so emotionally beleaguered was in the weeks following the terrorist attacks on September 11th.

Over the 17 days that ensued, I got to know most of the people individually and came to see them as “regular” people rather than victims. This was 1000 Executions brought home to me as I sat with one of the women and she told me how proud The U.S. has executed nearly 1,000 she was of the father who raised her. people in the name of “justice.” The You see, he was alone from the time she movement to abolish the death penalty is _______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

Stoppit! was a young girl, as her mother had been murdered. My first reaction was to exclaim, murdered? But, then I remembered where I was and to whom I spoke. You see, despite the tremendous sorrow collectively suffered by these people, they are not an angry, sad, vengeful group. Sorrow is not the countenance they wear. Rather they are joyful. They are just as diverse as any other group. Somehow, they have found the link from violence to healing. I say link because it is not an ending, this healing. So often you hear the call for retaliatory violence as a way to bring “closure” for the victim’s families. These victim’s families, without exception, abhor the word closure. They do not believe that such a thing exists. In fact, Dale Recinella, a prison chaplain from Florida, tells of a victim’s family member who waited a lifetime to find closure in an execution. After the execution, she stood up and screamed over and over again, “IS THAT IT?” She had bought the lie that a life for a life would bring her peace. Despite the fact that the group was on the road to healing, it was obvious to me that their loss still caused a great deal of pain. One member of the group, SueZann Bosler, has participated in every Journey since the first one in Indiana in 1993. She has told her story numerous times since then. She was what she terms a PK (preacher’s kid) and was used to strangers coming to her home for help. So when the doorbell rang one evening, she didn’t think anything of it. She heard her father answer the door but then heard a strange sound. Upon coming to investigate, she witnessed her father being stabbed to death. She rushed to help and was

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Fall 2005 stabbed herself. She pretended to be dead. While waiting, she heard the house ransacked and listened as her father took his last breath. During this part of the story, her voice broke and tears ran down her face. Even having told her story so many times and experienced healing, she still grieved the loss of her father. As a Brethren minister, he had opposed the death penalty and had told SueZann that if he were ever murdered, he would not approve of the death penalty for his murderer. When SueZann was told that the State was pursuing the death penalty for her family, she said no. She knew that more violence wouldn’t bring back her father and it wasn’t what he would have wanted. So, after all the pain, why do these people continue to open wounds and speak to others? As SueZann said to me, victims are sold a bill of goods. They are told that if there is a retaliatory murder, they will feel better. Isn’t this the justification that you hear all the time? We owe a death penalty conviction to the families. The Journey says no to this in a powerful voice. Their voice is essential in neutralizing this the retribution argument. Journey members feel that reopening wounds is worth it so that their voices are heard and heeded. Bud Welch, father of Julie Welch, who was killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing, puts it best when he notes that a revelation came when he saw the same pain in Tim McVeigh’s father’s eyes that he saw in his own. More killing only spreads the pain. I make these reflections after having completed a 17-day speaking tour (October 14-30) with the Journey of

_______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

Stoppit! Hope in Texas. Journey speaking teams spoke all over Texas and reached millions of people through the media and more than 10,000 face to face. Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing is an organization that is led by murder victim family members that conducts public education speaking tours and addresses alternatives to the death penalty. Journey "storytellers" come from all walks of life and represent the full spectrum and diversity of faith, color and economic situation. They are real people who know first hand the aftermath of the insanity and horror of murder. They recount their tragedies and their struggles to heal as a way of opening dialogue on the death penalty in schools, colleges, churches and other venues. The Journey spotlights murder victim's family members who choose not to seek revenge, and instead select the path of love and compassion for all of humanity. Forgiveness is seen as strength and as a way of healing. The greatest resources of the Journey are the people who are a part of it. Next year the Journey will be held in Virginia. In addition to speakers, they are always in need of activists to help with logistics, etc. If you are interested in knowing more and/or joining to Journey, go to: http://www.journeyofhope.org/pages/ind ex.htm

Let’s Shut It Down By Molly Wieser

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Fall 2005 because of litigation which showed, and continues to show, that a) Ohio was never justified in building a prison for 500 supermax prisoners - there are less than 50 supermax prisoners in Ohio right now, the rest of the OSP prisoners are classified at lower security levels, and b) Ohio has long been in the habit of filling these unjustified cells arbitrarily in a transparent effort to look less the fool for building the useless prison. After years of these costly court battles, Ohio is no longer permitted to put a prisoner in this living mausoleum of a prison without some due process, according the United States Supreme Court. In their infinite creativity, Ohio prison administrators have found a way to circumvent this obstacle by dreaming up a raft of promises to prisoners while repeating these promises before a federal judge. OSP will be a “multi-purpose facility,” not a supermax prison, if these promises are honored. There is no reason to believe that the judge quite believed Ohio’s promises. The department has a long history of administrative failures in relation to OSP, death row, and the Lucasville prison that lies at the start of this trail of tears. If the judge had found Ohio’s promises entirely credible, he would have denied the prisoners’ motion for a permanent injunction prohibiting the transfer. Instead, Ohio has been given adequate rope with which to hang itself. He will undo the move if Ohio treats death row prisoners who, according to prison administrators, are a largely peaceful crew, as supermax prisoners, denying them adequate access to legal counsel and privileges such as time out of their tiny, individual cells. Ohio has lost other opportunities to save money on prison administration, so this

Ohio DRC officials are starting the transfer of death row prisoners to the Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP); a move they state is for the purpose of saving money. This supermax prison has been about half empty for years.This is _______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

Stoppit! would not come as a jarring despite the lack of prisoners there, an administrative error that has needlessly cost Ohio taxpayers millions beyond those funds used to construct the prison in the first place. Three Ohio death row inmates have already attempted suicide as the transfer gains momentum. Perhaps they know that Ohio’s supermax prison was never intended to be anything but a form of torture in violation of international human rights law that prohibits longterm solitary confinement because of its well-documented effect on mental health. In all likelihood they know about the Ohio supermax prisoner recently found bloody and beaten with his hands cuffed behind his back, and about the 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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Fall 2005 me back, greeting cards and post cards I sent him. Many times he would send me an article he had read in a Christian magazine. He was even thoughtful enough to send me a few greeting cards when I feel sure funds were limited. He has 2 sons, 3 grandchildren, 3 sisters and 2 brothers. He wrote me that his parents love all their children unconditionally. He enjoys listening to the radio, especially jazz and PBS, football, baseball, the Final Four of March Madness, jumping rope and getting fresh air and sunshine when walking outside his cell on the Honor Block. He shared a lot of scripture verses with me but I would say that one of his favorites is Matthew 25:36-45. It has been a pleasure to know John.

John Hicks Found Friend in OTSE Member By Marty May I am writing this on November 17. On November 29 John Hicks is scheduled to be executed for crimes committed in 1985. I see John Hicks differently from other people because I have regularly corresponded with him for 3 years. John is a Christian man who served the Lord on Death Row. He is a man of strong faith and demonstrated that by praying, reading the scriptures, attending Bible studies and watching Christian TV. John was always very appreciative of my letters, the envelope I sent him to write _______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

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I would like to get involved with Ohioans To Stop Executions ...

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Director, Molly Wieser 937-278-4225 AFSC 915 Salem Ave Dayton OH 45406 [email protected] Activist United Loren Bondurant 740-427-6949 Kenyon College, Gamgier, OH 43022 [email protected] Central State - North Student Affairs Center, Kenyon College Kenyon College, Tuesdays 10pm Amnesty International - Group 86 Laura Osborn Coffey 513-734-6043 PO Box 45, Bethel Ohio 45106 [email protected] Amnesty International Michael Manley [email protected]

Friends of OTSE ACLU - Ohio Judy Maruszan 216-472-2220 4506 Chester Ave, 44103 [email protected] 3rd Thurs, 7pm Max Wohl Civil Liberties Center ACLU - Cincinnati Working Group Ken Bordwell 513-751-1047 3608 Duluth Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45220-1202 [email protected]

Catholic Commission Community Action Sister Marian Durkin, CSA 330-659-5100 5232 Broadview Rd., Richfield 44286 [email protected] Central Ohioans to Stop Execution Jim Tobin 614-560-0654 Cincinnati Chapter of Ohioans to Stop Execution Eunice Timoney Ravenna 513-579-8547 215 E. 14th St, 45202 [email protected]

AFSC Ohio Criminal Justice Program _______________________________________________________________________ _ The Newsletter of Ohioans to Stop Executions www.otse.org

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Cleveland Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Kathy Soltis 216-291-3671 4506 Chester Rd. 44103 [email protected] Cleveland www.clevedp.org

[email protected] Montgomery and Greene Counties

CURE - Ohio Karen Thimmes, sec; Ellen Kitchens, Treas; Michelle Baker, web 614-457-0409, toll free 877-826-8504 PO Box 14222, Columbus 43214 [email protected] Family and Friends of Felons [email protected] Dayton

Kenny Richey Campaign Karen Richey 44-141-642-0183 210 Hamilton Crescent Cambusland Glasgow G73 8TF [email protected] Scotland

Families That Matter Support for families with loved one's on Ohio's death row Eunice Timoney Ravenna 513-579-8547 215 E. 14th St. 45202 [email protected] Greater Akron Chapter of Ohioans to Stop Executions Mac Goekler 330-633-1846 288 Kensington Park Dr., Tallmadge 44278 [email protected] Greater Akron interfaith Summit County Catholic Commission 3rd Friday of each month, 8:30am 9:30am moratorium Great Dayton Pax Christi Mary Jo Pfander 937-299-4885 634 Lamont Dr. Kettering 45429

Interfaith Coalition to Stop Execution Nancy Hirsch 614-425-1819 3400 Kenny Rd., 43221 [email protected]

Lorain County Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Jeff Campbell 440-244-6037 Catholic Action Commission of Lorain County, 2500 Elyria Ave., 44055 North East Ohio Moratorium Committee Paul Beaudry 216-225-6813 [email protected] Cleveland - North East Ohio National Lawyers Guild Student Chapter Case Western Reserve University School of Law Cynthia Allgood 216-261-4419 23951 Lakeshore Blvd. Suite 509 Euclid OH 44123 [email protected] Toledo Coalition Against the Death Penalty Jeffrey Gamso [email protected] Toledo

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