Ohio legislators and activists are working to abolish the death penalty in the state.
Bills aimed at ending capital punishment were introduced to the Ohio house and senate in March and have received bipartisan support.
Reverend Doctor Jack Sullivan Junior is the Executive Director of the Ohio Council of Churches. At a press conference of the Council and the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus on Tuesday, Sullivan said the death penalty is unethical and ineffective at curbing crime.
“Whether a life-ending act is carried out on a Cleveland street or in a Chillicothe prison as authorized by the state, killing is wrong,” said Sullivan.
Reverend Doctor Crystal Walker is the Executive Director of Greater Dayton Christian Connections and a Board Member of Ohioans to Stop Executions. Her son was shot and killed in 2013. But Walker doesn’t want his murderer to face execution.
“The death penalty only causes additional sorrow. It only feeds into the violence that is so prevalent in our society," said Walker, "I believe that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation should [do] just that. Correct and rehabilitate.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment at the end of 2020 due to the state’s inability to buy lethal drugs for executions. The last execution performed by the state happened in 2018.