Friend,
There’s a lot happening at the legislature this week, and because most Ohioans to Stop Executions can’t be there in person, I wanted to make sure you know how to have your presence felt. See below.
First, if you are able to be at the Statehouse in Columbus, please try to attend the following two hearings:
- Tuesday at 3:30pm in room 116, the House Judiciary Committee will hear sponsor testimony from Rep. Antonio (D) and Rep. Antani (R) on their bi-partisan House Bill 289 to abolish the death penalty. Please support them in-person if you are able. We hope a full proponent hearing will be scheduled soon and will let you know when that happens.
- Wednesday at 11:15am in the North Hearing Room, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold another hearing on SB 162, the bill to prohibit the execution of defendants with severe mental illness. Opponent and proponent testimony is anticipated.
Can’t be there? TAKE ACTION HERE!
And ask yourself – Who do YOU know who would join you in contacting your legislators?
In particular, there is a special sign-on letter for Ohio mental health professionals, and a second sign-on letter for Ohio law professors teaching in the areas of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Health and Disability Law, and Constitutional Law. If you know people in either community, please ask them to sign on right away! Here is the link: http://oamie.org/take-action/
Thank you.
On other matters, I want to congratulate Ohio death row survivor Derrick Jamison on the 10th anniversary of his release yesterday, after 20 years on Ohio’s death row for a crime he did not commit. OTSE members Jack Shuler and Sean Dunne co-authored a reflection on the work Derrick does to help end the death penalty. Read that here, and read more about Derrick’s work here.
Finally, two people who were on the Walk to Stop Executions had excellent letters to the editor published. Dan Schneider wrote in the Cincinnati Enquirer and Stuart Smith wrote in the Columbus Dispatch. Please consider writing your own letter to the editor of your local paper calling for an end to executions in Ohio!
Have an excellent week, and don’t forget, your $5, $50, $500 or even more will keep OTSE shouting it from the rooftops on your behalf. If you want to make sure OTSE has the resources to build on all of these developments, click here to make your generous donation right now.
More soon. Thank you for allowing OTSE to be your voice to end executions in our state.
Yours,
Kevin Werner
OTSE Action Fund
PS: Friend, we appreciate your support and invite you to consider making a monthly commitment to the Action Fund through the sustainer program. Remember, since the Action Fund lobbies, contributions are not tax-deductible.