State official apologizes for death row comment

Youngstown officials were angered by a comment that was intended for the Ohio State Penitentiary.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The state public defender apologized Thursday after angering Mahoning Valley officials with a remark indicating he thought living in Youngstown was worse than execution.
David Bodiker said he was referring to the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown when he made the comment to The Associated Press. He was reacting to reports that the state is moving death row from the Mansfield Correctional Institution to the Youngstown prison.
"They're probably going to think execution is welcome if they have to stay at Youngstown," Bodiker said. He later said he was referring to the harsh reputation of the prison, the state's supermaximum security facility.
Youngstown television stations called to ask him about the comment, and a representative of the Regional Chamber told Bodiker the group was considering writing him a letter of complaint.
Terminology
Bodiker says it's common in his office to refer to prisons by the city in which they're located.
"We were talking about the institution -- I never talked about the city," Bodiker said. In his letter, he apologized "for any confusion this has caused."
The apology was accepted, said Greg Sherlock, the chambers' vice president of governmental affairs. Sherlock said Bodiker's comment may have been taken out of context.
"We're sensitive to comments made pertaining to any area of the Mahoning Valley because of the proactive approach we've taken in rebuilding our area," Sherlock said.
Once a thriving steel capital, Youngstown also had a reputation as an organized crime center. The steel industry collapsed in the late 1970s, and the city has struggled to make a comeback.