Starting at 8:30am on Sunday October 4, death penalty abolitionists from Ohio and beyond will begin a 7 day, 83 mile walk from the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, the prison where Ohio conducts executions, to the Statehouse in Columbus, calling for an end to capital punishment. More than a dozen participants are registered to walk the entire route, and hundreds of supporters from across Ohio are expected for the final leg to the Statehouse on Saturday, October 10, which is observed internationally as World Day Against the Death Penalty.
At evening programs in Portsmouth (10/3), Chillicothe (10/5), Circleville (10/7), and Columbus (10/9), [locations and speakers listed below] residents of local communities are invited to conversations about the death penalty with walkers and special guests with unique “voices of experience.” Special guests, some of whom will walk the entire route, are available for telephone interviews in advance and during the Walk. They include:
- Derrick Jamison, who was exonerated in 2005 after serving 20 years on Ohio’s death row for a crime he did not commit
- Terry Collins, who retired as Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections after participating in 33 executions
- Sam Reese Sheppard, whose father, Dr. Sam Sheppard, was wrongly convicted in the murder of Sam’s mother in the infamous and as-yet unsolved 1954 Cleveland case which has inspired numerous books, television programs and movies.
- Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, a Southern Baptist Minister who has engaged with death row prisoners in Texas. He is the author of seven books, including Jesus on Death Row, and Last Words from Texas: Meditations from the Execution Chamber.
To schedule interviews and for additional details contact Abe Bonowitz at abe@otse.org or 561-371-5204. Additional information, including the Walk to Stop Executions itinerary and local event details, is available at Walk to Stop Executions.
Community Dialogues on Executions – DETAILS:
PORTSMOUTH
Saturday Oct. 3, 7 pm at IBEW, 110 Offnere St.
Featuring Ohio death row survivor Derrick Jamison, murder victim family member Sam Reese Sheppard and others
CHILLICOTHE
Monday Oct. 5, 7 pm
Community Dialogue featuring retired director of the ODRC, Terry Collins
Community of Christ, 539 West 5th St
CIRCLEVILLE
Wednesday, Oct 7, 7pm
Community Dialogue featuring Sam Reese Sheppard, author of Mockery of Justice about the wrongful conviction of his father
Hosted by St. Joseph’s Church and Circleville Quakers
At St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 134 W Mound St.
COLUMBUS
Friday Oct. 9, 7 pm
Community Dialogue featuring Rev. Jeff Hood and Prof. Howard Tolley
1021 E. Broad St., Columbus
COLUMBUS RALLY
The final 2.5-mile leg in Columbus on Saturday, October 10, the World Day Against the Death Penalty, will conclude with a stop on the sidewalk in front of the Statehouse followed by 12 pm rally at Trinity Episcopal Church, 125 E. Broad St. across from the Capitol
More information about the Walk schedule, route, programs, endorsements or registration at www.walktostopexecutions.org or call Abe Bonowitz at 561-371-5204.
This event is jointly organized by Scioto Peace & Justice Fellowship of Reconciliation, Intercommunity Justice & Peace Center, Footprints for Peace, Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio, and Ohioans to Stop Executions.