BREAKING: Cincinnati Prosecutor Urges Ohioans to contact legislators to urge Abolition of #DeathPenalty!

BREAKING NEWS: Hamilton County Prosecutor Urges Ohioans to Contact Your Legislators to Abolish Ohio’s Deaths Penalty!

This is, in fact, true. Tuesday morning I was invited to participate in a press conference by the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, a long-time ally. IJPC staffer Jessie Franks led the event releasing a report on the high cost of the death penalty to Hamilton County residents. Check the report for yourself. I was quoted by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“If the citizens of Ohio want the law changed, they should contact their state representative and let him or her know,” [Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters] added. “However, I am bound to follow the law and I will continue to do so.” Abe Bonowitz, of Death Penalty Action, said it’s unfair that rural counties don’t pursue death penalty cases because they can’t afford them. But large urban counties, like Hamilton County, do because they have the tax base. Bonowitz said a life without parole sentence should be considered “death in prison.” “We can be safe from dangerous offenders and hold them accountable without executions,” he said. “It’s what we do the vast majority of the time.”

After the press conference I found an email from my friend Holly in Cincinnati with news that Governor DeWine has declared lethal injection to be over in Ohio. Suddenly I am on the phone with the Associated Press. And:

Opponents of Ohio’s death penalty called on lawmakers last month to enact a capital punishment ban during the current lame duck legislative session. They repeated that demand Tuesday. “It’s time for the General Assembly to just end the death penalty in Ohio and repurpose the funds wasted trying to execute people into programs to better serve the needs of murder victim families,” said Abraham Bonowitz, Death Penalty Action director.

So there you have it. The Governor and the Prosecutor….

WE CAN DO THIS IF WE ALL TAKE ACTION TODAY AND INVITE OTHERS TO JOIN WITH US:

OHIO RESIDENTS:

Write Your Ohio Legislators to Pass SB 296 to Repeal Ohio’s Death Penalty.

Write Governor DeWine to Support Repeal of Ohio’s Death Penalty.

EVERYONE EVERYWHERE:

Sign the petition to Governor DeWine urging him to lead the death penalty repeal effort.

Many thanks!

— abe

Abraham J. Bonowitz

Director, Death Penalty Action

PS: Five federal executions remain scheduled in the coming weeks, and Death Penalty Action is leading the grassroots opposition. Sign and share our new petition urging president Trump to halt the executions.

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