Dear Friend,
In my message last week, I wrote that things were moving fast. Frankly, my head is spinning. I was cooking dinner yesterday evening when my phone started buzzing again…. Here’s what’s happened since Friday:
- Death row exoneration #156 occurred in Florida on Friday.
- The new Gallup Poll on the death penalty was released on Friday, showing support for executions has dropped another 2% and opposition is at its highest level in 43 years.
- The Columbus Dispatch, long one of the executioners best friends in Ohio, editorialized on Sunday, asking if it is worth it to keep the death penalty. They are not with us yet, but that is a BIG shift!
- The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), which until now has staunchly supported capital punishment, has taken a new position on capital punishment. Yesterday the Board of Directors passed a resolution outlining serious concerns with the death penalty and acknowledging growing opposition and differing views on the issue among Evangelicals.
- Yesterday evening the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction once again postponed executions for another full year. No executions are scheduled in Ohio until 2017.
None of this is a surprise. Brick by brick the death penalty is crumbling in Ohio and across the United States. Still, there is more to do.
Tomorrow (10/21) at 11:15am in the North Hearing Room of the Ohio Senate Building, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear more proponent testimony on SB 162, the bill to prohibit the execution of killers with severe mental illness. Please join us to show your support for the Mental Illness Exemption! Event Details are here. Learn more about the Mental Illness Exemption and take action here: http://oamie.org
The question now is this: Will YOU add fuel to the fire?
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
Executive Director, Ohioans to Stop Executions
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.