Inquiry sought on death penalty cases

Groups demand stop to executions in Ohio.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- When Darrell Ferguson was sentenced to death in 2003 for fatally stabbing three people with their own kitchen knives, he became the seventh Montgomery County resident sent to death row in 21 years.
Yet during the same time period, neighboring Butler County -- with a third fewer residents -- also sentenced seven people to death.
Prosecutors in Butler County also filed far more death penalty cases than Montgomery County, whose county seat of Dayton is the state's sixth largest city, according to an analysis of capital indictments by The Associated Press.
The role of geography in determining death sentences was one of several factors death penalty opponents cited Thursday, including some AP findings, as they formally asked Gov. Bob Taft to stop executions.
Ohioans To Stop Executions, the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union delivered a letter to Taft asking for a moratorium followed by an independent and thorough review of Ohio's death penalty system, which was enacted in 1981.
"We are confident that many Ohioans, including those who favor having the death penalty as part of the penal code in the state, are not satisfied with a system tainted with racism, that is applied arbitrarily, and drains counties financially," said the letter signed by Sister Alice Gerdeman, president of Ohioans to Stop Executions.
Taft, a Republican, has ruled out a moratorium but for the first time says he would consider a study under certain conditions.
"The death penalty law has been on the books for a number of years -- if there's ways we can improve it, we'll certainly look at that," Taft said. "But I think it's very important not to second-guess the judicial process on specific cases that have already occurred."
State Rep. Shirley Smith of Cleveland has introduced a bill calling for a death penalty study. The House approved a similar bill last year but the Senate quickly shelved the idea.
Senate President Bill Harris said he'll consider the legislation if it comes to the Senate but is personally opposed to a study.
"We've got ample laws now. I think we've got checks and balances," said Harris, an Ashland Republican. "I'd much rather see the money used to try to rehabilitate prisoners that have not committed crimes that warrant the death penalty."
Regional differences
Butler County, with a population of about 340,000, indicted 32 offenders from 1981 through 2002. Seven, or 22 percent, resulted in death sentences, according to the AP analysis.
Montgomery County, with a population of about 540,000, indicted 18 offenders during the same time. Seven, or 39 percent, resulted in death sentences.
Butler County indicts all offenders whose crimes meet the requirements for a death sentence, but does want the cases to be strong, said Prosecutor Robin Piper.
Though it's true outcomes vary by region, he said jurors take an oath to represent their own community, not someplace they don't live.
"It's an injustice for readers to maybe get the impression that there's some kind of unfairness or inequity to that," Piper said. "I don't think there is. I just think it has to do with the difference in geography."
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias Heck reviews all murder cases carefully before deciding to seek a death sentence, and has chosen not to seek capital punishment several times as a result, Heck spokesman Greg Flannagan said Thursday. The close scrutiny could explain the county's high death sentence rate, he said.
Among those calling for a moratorium Thursday was Paul Beaudry, a Roman Catholic and Cleveland business owner who says the death penalty drains needed dollars from communities.
"I would rather see the money spent on capital crimes, appeals and executions used for the benefit of the local communities where the crime took place," said Beaudry, 57, owner of Independent Chemical Inc.
In Hamilton County, 43 percent of offenders facing capital punishment were sentenced to death, compared to only 8 percent in Cuyahoga County and 5 percent in Franklin County, the AP study found.