Capital-punishment opponents urge Kasich to commute death sentences

COLUMBUS — Opponents of capital punishment urged Gov. John Kasich to postpone the state’s scheduled executions and commute the death sentences of Ohio inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ohioans to Stop Executions and other like-minded groups also want lawmakers to move legislation barring death sentences for the mentally ill and implementing additional supports for the families of murder victims.

“You need not execute dangerous offenders in order to feel safe from them or hold them accountable,” said Abraham Bonowitz, a spokesman for Ohioans to Stop Executions. “As the courts are still sorting out Ohio’s execution protocol, I want to make it clear that Ohioans to Stop Executions does not take a position on how we kill our prisoners.

“Our concern is that we kill prisoners in light of the many problems that exist with the morality, the fairness and the accuracy of Ohio’s capital punishment system.”

Read more about the movement in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.