A bipartisan, multi-faith coalition of Ohio residents and lawmakers are working to pass a bill that will repeal Ohio's death penalty. Leaders in faith communities across the state are invited to add their name to this letter, calling on all lawmakers to support the effort and end the death penalty once and for all:
To Members of the Ohio General Assembly:
As people of faith, we are committed to policies rooted in justice and grounded in the promise of redemption. While we come from varied backgrounds and political stances, we stand together against state sanctioned murder. Instead, we are motivated by the restorative power of love and investments in transformation.
We hold deep love 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. Instead, it is a hollow instrument of death that offers no redemption, no closure, and no transformation. 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.
Now is the time for Ohio to rid itself of its outdated and immoral death penalty. As people who are motivated by faith and sparked by profound love for the common good, we are calling on you to endorse the bipartisan, multi-faith effort to abolish the death penalty in Ohio.
