But we reject, from the various ethical and religious perspectives of our member organizations, the use of state-sponsored killing as a punishment for even the most heinous crimes. The government should not be in the business of taking the life of a conscious human being for the purpose of revenge. 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.