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With new Governor Ted Strickland in office, Ohians have begun to raise their voices for various causes. One cause has been in opposition to the death penalty in Ohio. According to the Youngstown Vindicator, protestors gathered outside the Ohio State Penitentiary to let our new governor know that many of Ohio's citizens do not approve of this particular measure of justice.
The protest was organized by Cleveland residents but included Youngstown area residents as well, and was staged on Martin Luther King Day weekend. At this point there are five men on death row in the state penitentiary who the protestors claim are innocent of the crime that put them there. Known as the Lucasville Five, the men were part of a prison uprising in Lucasville in 1993 in which prison guards were killed. The men on death row, say the protestors, were not part of the deaths of the guards.
I myself don't believe that the death penalty is an effective measure for curtailing crime. If it were, the number of crimes in which the death penalty is a possible outcome would drop, but this isn't so. Historically the death penalty hasn't worked to curtail crime. Even in the days of public executions, it didn't stop people from commiting crimes. Some sociological studies have found that it may even promote the idea of social justice being equated with death, creating a society more inclined to kill.
I do think the death penalty serves a purpose, mostly to make family and friends of victims feel that justice has been served. It doesn't aid the betterment of society itself, though, especially when so many people have died on death row who were later found to be innocent. A measure of justice shouldn't have so much collateral damage, as some would call it, as this one does. I do, however, sympathize with the victims of crime and their families and friends, who desire some form of justice in the face of their tragedies, and I won't pretend to have a better plan for justice. I do hope, however, that more measures can be taken to ensure that a form of punishment so severe as the death penalty will be carried out with more caution in the future. Perhaps protests such as the one carried out on Martin Luther King Day weekend will be a call for more consideration of how we, as a society, proceed with a process so fraught as the death penalty is in the new century.
1. A Book Called "Journey Toward Justice" Memoir by Dennis Fritz: This Book Changed my mind about the Death Penalty. I feel the more people know about these issues maybe some things will change. At one time I wrote this about the book I read.... Who And Where Is Dennis Fritz, You may say after reading John Grisham's Wonderful Book "The Innocent man", Grisham's First non-fiction book. The Other Innocent Man hardly mentioned in "The Innocent Man" has his own compelling and fascinating story to tell in "Journey Toward Justice". John Grisham endorsed Dennis Fritz's Book on the Front Cover. Dennis Fritz wrote his Book Published by Seven Locks Press, to bring awareness about False Convictions, and The Death Penalty. "Journey Toward Justice" is a testimony to the Triumph of the Human Spirit and is a Stunning and Shocking Memoir. Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of murder after a swift trail. The only thing that saved him from the Death Penalty was a lone vote from a juror. "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham is all about Ronnie Williamson, Dennis Fritz's was his co-defendant. Ronnie Williamson was sentenced to the Death Penalty. Both were exonerated after spending 12 years in prison. Both Freed by a simple DNA test, The real killer was one of the Prosecution's Key Witness. John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" tells half the story. Dennis Fritz's Story needs to be heard. Read about how he wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense and immersed himself in an intense study of law. He was a school teacher and a ordinary man from Ada Oklahoma, whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975. On May 8, 1987 while raising his young daughter alone, he was put under arrest and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder. Since then, it has been a long hard road filled with twist and turns. Dennis Fritz is now on his "Journey Toward Justice". He never blamed the Lord and solely relied on his faith in God to make it through. He waited for God's time and never gave up.
Posted at 6:00AM on Feb 18th 2007 by michael