An execution will not bring the victim back to life. The death penalty does not deter crime. It is applied disproportionately against poor people and members of minority groups. Mistaken convictions occur. The rest of the Western industrialized world looks upon the United States in horror at our continued use of the death penalty.
Mistaken convictions occur.
We believe that both opponents and supporters of capital punishment can agree that it is wrong to execute a person who is not guilty of the crime. The Ohio Public Defender has made it clear that John Brewer, not John Byrd, is the person who fatally stabbed Monte Tewksbury, a convenience store clerk, during the 1983 robbery in Cincinnati. All of us will take part. The equipment is paid for with our tax dollars. The strapdown team and the executioners are paid with our tax dollars.