500+ Ohio Faith Leaders to Call on State Lawmakers to End the Death Penalty

COLUMBUS, OH  -- Ohio faith leaders called on members of the General Assembly to repeal the state’s death penalty at a news conference in the Statehouse Ladies’ Gallery on Monday, May 4.

They represented the more than five hundred Ohio faith leaders from across the state who have signed a letter that was shared with state lawmakers on May 4.

Speakers at the news conference included:

• Pastor Rich Nathan, Pastor, Founding pastor of Vineyard Columbus
• Marsha Forson, Catholic Conference of Ohio Associate Director, Social Concerns
• Rev. Michael Poole, Pastor, Emanuel Lutheran Church in Marion
• Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan Jr., former executive director, Ohio Council of Churches

In the letter, the Ohio faith leaders said, “We hold deep care and respect for victims and co-victims of crime, and we most certainly are not opposed to accountability for rightfully convicted persons. However, we believe that the death penalty serves no moral purpose.”

The hundreds of spiritual leaders, representing more than fifteen denominations statewide, went on to say, “The death penalty monopolizes human and financial resources that would be better spent if applied to the co-victims whose glaring list of needs often goes unmet.”

The full letter to Ohio lawmakers can be found at this link: https://otse.org/wp-content/uploads/Faith-leader-sign-on-letter-to-GA-136-signers.pdf

For additional information contact Annie Shaver at annie@otse.org.

Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE) is the only single-issue death penalty repeal organization in Ohio. OTSE represents millions of Ohioans who oppose the death penalty and leads the #NoDeathPenaltyOH campaign to abolish Ohio’s capital punishment system. For more information go to https://otse.org/ .

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