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Dedicated to Ending the Death Penalty in Ohio

Over 100 organizations call on state to halt executions as legislation to examine the death penalty is introduced

Call comes on heals of new evidence that Ohio's death penalty system is plagued by gross iniquities

      Ohioans to Stop Executions joined more than 100 small businesses, faith communities, local governments, and other Ohio organizations to call for an immediate moratorium on executions while questions of fairness and accuracy in the state's death penalty are studied and addressed.  Representatives of the coalition hand-delivered a letter to Governor Bob Taft today urging the execution time-out.

      "In February, after 20 years on Ohio's death row, Derrick Jamison became the 119th person in the country to be exonerated and released from death row," said Alice Gerdeman, President of Ohioans to Stop Executions.  "Meanwhile, an investigation by the Associated Press just last week showed once again that our death penalty is simply an inaccurate lottery of geography and skin color."

      "Ohioans are outraged that a system with people's lives on the line keeps getting it wrong.  They are demanding that our state suspend executions immediately while these issues are addressed," Gerdeman continued.

      The renewed push for a moratorium and study comes after the Associated Press published an investigation showing significant problems in the application of Ohio's death penalty.  "The death penalty in Ohio is imposed and carried out in freakish, arbitrary, and discriminatory fashion.  If we are going to be in the business of killing people, we must be sure that our decisions are just, fair, consistent, and right," said ACLU Legal Director Jeffrey Gamso, " The AP study demonstrates that they are not.  What we must do, then, is call a moratorium while we examine what we do and why we do it to make sure that our decisions about whether and who to kill are as fair and accurate as humanly possible."

       "The vast majority of religious bodies have made public statements against the death penalty," said Nancy Hirsch, Coordinator of the Interfaith Committee to Stop Executions. " We call for an immediate moratorium on executions in the State of Ohio, and our almost two hundred members are working to provide more moratorium resolutions from faith communities throughout Ohio."

      On Tuesday, Ohio Rep. Shirley Smith introduced HB 260, creating a commission that would conduct a review of Ohio's death penalty.  Similar legislation passed the House of Representatives last year by a vote of 64-30.

      "An independent, thorough and balanced review is a necessary first step in starting to address the problems in Ohio's death penalty," said Gerdeman.  "Ohioans will simply not stand for executions moving forward when the system is so clearly getting it wrong time and time again."

      Gerdeman, Gamso and Hirsch were also joined by small business owner Paul Beaudry and League of Women Voters representative Meg Flack.  The Ohio League of Women Voters recently conducted an independent study of the death penalty in Ohio and, upon completion, called for a moratorium on executions.    In total, over 100 Ohio organizations have joined the call for a moratorium and thorough review of the state's death penalty system, including the city councils of Cincinnati, Dayton, Oberlin and Yellow Springs (complete list attached).  Nationally, over 3,700 organizations, religious groups, small business, legislatures, and professional associations have also urged a moratorium, including nearly 150 city, town, and county councils.  For the complete national list, visit www.ejusa.org or contact 301-699-0042 x127.