Two free local screenings of a new film on the death penalty, 'At the Death House Door': one in Cincinnati and one in Northern Kentucky. TUESDAY, MAY 20TH, 7 pm, THURSDAY, MAY 22ND, 7 pm

At the Death House Door is a personal and intimate look at the death penalty in the state of Texas through the eyes of Pastor Carroll Pickett, who served 15 years as the death house chaplain in Huntsville Texas and presided over 95 executions. After each execution, Rev. Pickett recorded an audiotape account of his thoughts and reactions. The film also focuses on the story of Carlos DeLuna, an inmate Rev. Pickett counseled and whose execution troubled him more than the others. He firmly believed DeLuna was innocent and the film tracks the investigative efforts of the Chicago Tribune reporters who turned up evidence that strongly supports this position. At the Death House Door is co-directed and co-produced by Steve James and Peter Gilbert, both award winner in their field.

 

Another Bothched Execution:
Thursday morning, May 24th, Ohio experienced its second seriously botched execution. Christopher Newton was declared dead one hour and 53 minutes after the scheduled time of the death procedure.  The execution team experienced difficulty locating a vein for over an hour.  Presently, Ohio is a party to a lawsuit challenging the lethal injection procedure used. Today's exceptionally long execution clearly demonstrates the legitimacy of the suit. To express concerns over such a flawed procedure and system, please contact Governor Strickland at: 614-466-3555. 

Read a reflection by Daphne Miller, who attended the witness outside the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution.

 

Death Row Survivor Speaks About Being Innocent on Death Row
Ron Keine was wrongly convicted of several crimes and sentenced to death in New Mexico. He will speak out about being innocent on death row...
March 25 - Kelley Auditorium in Alter Hall on the Xavier University campus. download pdf flyer
March 26 - Carnegie Arts Center, Covington download pdf flyer

 

 

April 11, Tuesday - Gary Beeman at Xavier University

"As long as the death penalty is maintained, the risk of executing the innocent can never be eliminated.

Since 1973, 123 prisoners have been released in the USA after evidence emerged of their innocence of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death. There were six such cases in 2004, two in 2005 and one so far in 2006. Some prisoners had come close to execution after spending many years under sentence of death. Recurring features in their cases include prosecutorial or police misconduct; the use of unreliable witness testimony, physical evidence, or confessions; and inadequate defence representation. Other US prisoners have gone to their deaths despite serious doubts over their guilt." - source Amnesty International USA

In 1976, Gary Beeman was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death in Ohio. He maintained that he was innocent and that Claire Liuzzo, an escaped prisoner who testified as the main prosecution witness at Beeman's first trial, was the actual killer. In 1978, the District Court of Appeals granted Beeman a new trial, finding that Beeman's right to cross-examine Liuzzo had been unfairly restricted at his first trial. On retrial, five witnesses testified that they heard Liuzzo confess to the murder and Beeman was acquitted in 1979. Today Beeman lives in Niagara Falls, N.Y. He is active in the movement against the death penalty and speaks to audiences about his experience as a survivor of death row.

read the City Beat article - Death by the Numbers / download Witness to Innocence Ohio Tour flyer /
read the press release

 

 

Gregory Lott - April 27, 2004 -Stay of Execution

Concerns:

1. Gregory Lott has consistently maintained his innocence of the murder, while admitting that he burgled the house.

2. The Ohio Supreme Court acknowledged in 1990 that Lott had been convicted of the murder on circumstantial evidence, and in 2001, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said that 'this is the most troubling aspect of the case'.

3. There is concern that the Department of Corrections determined Gregory Lott's IQ to be 72. The US Supreme Court ruled on June 20, 2002 that the death penalty for people with mental retardation is unconstiutional.

4. The prosecutor did not turn over to the defense the description that John McGrath had given police, or his belief that he and his attacker went to the same barber, or the information that McGrath had not identified his assailant from the sketch. The defense was therefore denied important evidence with which to contest the prosecution's version of events.

5. Gregory Lott's previous appeal lawyer discovered the withheld evidence in 1991. However, he failed to present it in the state appeal courts. His failure to do so has meant that federal courts have not reviewed it.

read more about Gregory Lott

Jerome Campbell –granted clemency 2004

Jerome Campbell’s case includes the worst elements of the death penalty as it is practiced in the United States: a faulty eyewitness, jailhouse snitches, and ineffective legal representation for a defendant who could not afford an attorney. Moreover, Hamilton County’s case against Campbell relied on evidence that was highly circumstantial.

read more about Jerome Campbell

Richard Cooey - Execution delayed since July 24, 2003

A three judge panel convicted Cooey of four counts of aggravated murder, two counts of rape, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of felonious assault, all while Cooey maintained his innocence. During the trial, Cooey attempted to prove that he could not have committed the crime, based on his level of intoxication and drug use. The panel refused to allow expert testimony into the trial. Mitigating evidence was introduced during the sentencing phase of the trial, showing that Cooey had suffered severe mental and physical abuse, abused alcohol and drugs, and had a mental disorder that was aggravated by the drug and alcohol use.

read more about Richard Cooey