Herman Dale Ashworth, February 26, 1973 ~ September 27, 2005
Mr. Ashworth waived his appeals. Sadly, due to Hurricane Rita, his adoptive parents were unable to visit him before the execution. Our thoughts and prayers remain with them
Many attended the vigil outside of Ohio’s death house including high school students from the Cleveland area - who will travel by bus through the night - and college students from Xavier University in Cincinnati. Attendee Anne Feczko, President of Xavier Students for Life noted, “College is a time when young people are bombarded by information on the overwhelming injustices in our world. By showing compassion to death row inmates and their families we can light a spark of hope amidst that darkness.”
Willie “Flip” Williams, November 9, 1956 ~ October 25, 2005
Willie is survived by a loving mother, three sisters, multi nieces and nephews, two sons, two daughters, one granddaughter, and one grandson.
Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Willie played basketball and football at school.
How family remembers him: caring, always tried to help others, devoted son, protective of mother, loving person, loved his children and loved his mother’s cooking.
We are thankful for Willie’s mother’s continued work to end the death penalty in Ohio and support other families.
John Hicks, July 31, 1956 ~ November 11, 2005
John is survived by two sons, 3 grandchildren, 3 sisters and 2 brothers. He sent the following message to be read at his prayer service. May he rest in peace.
“Living and making the right choices is the hardest part of this journey of life.
At this moment there are heavy hearts.
This event will fade as time goes by.
I commit my spirit unto the Father
and this house that holds my spirit will become a hollow shell.
There is peace knowing a new journey has started for me.
There will be no more pain, hurt or disappointments I have to carry in my heart anymore. There is peace in knowing I won’t make the wrong choices anymore.
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John G. Spirko, Jr., Age: 49, #171-433
OSP - 878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd.
Youngstown, OH 44505
Execution Date:
January 19, 2006 DELAYED
In IJPC’s last newsletter you read about John’s September 29th date and August 23rd clemency hearing. The Board recommended denial of clemency on August 30th. After investigative journalist reports noted untruths told by the Attorney General at the clemency hearing, the Parole Board reconsidered their recommendation. Later, Taft granted a reprieve until Nov 15; an unprecedented second Clemency hearing was scheduled for October 12th.
John Spirko was then scheduled to be executed by the State of Ohio on November 15, 2005. On Wednesday Oct 19th the Parole Board voted 6-3 to recommend that Governor Taft to deny clemency to Mr. Spirko.
Then on Nov 7th the Governor granted a 60 day reprieve to allow for DNA testing – A January 19th execution date was set. With no physical evidence to link him to the crime, and having a strong alibi IJPC believes there is too much doubt about guilt. When asked by the Clemency Board, the Attorney General representatives could not put together a credible timeline to debunk Spirko’s alibi.
As this newsletter goes to print the Governor has just affirmed the Attorney General’s request for a 180-day delay to finalize the DNA testing. For more information/updates about this highly troubling case see www.johnspirko.com, to download a petition go to www.otse.org.
Glenn Benner II, Age: 43, #190-672
OSP - 878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd.
Youngstown, OH 44505
Execution Date:
February 7, 2006
The following statement was sent from Glenn to Governor Taft:
“I originally thought that clemency was a way of administering Justice with Mercy, as per Christian teachings, but I have seen in recent rulings that the decisions of the Parole Board and the Governor not to grant clemency seem to have been based on the nature of the crime which was committed, not on whether or not the person facing execution has changed enough to deserve a sentence other than death. I know that I have changed, and I am now a new person, but sadly I am unable to change the past, so there does not seem to be a point in participating in such a hearing. Also, I feel that my participation in a clemency hearing would add further stress to those already suffering because of my actions, and I do not want to do this to anyone. I do of course understand that the Bowser and Sedgwick families may wish to participate in a hearing in order to express how they feel , and that is their prerogative, and I will respect that. I just want them to know that I will do nothing personally to add to their pain.”
Prayer Services for Glenn and all victims of violence: Monday February 6, 2006 in Cincinnati [2448 Auburn Ave, Holy Name Church, 7pm] and throughout the state. Also,Tuesday February 7, 8:30am outside death house until the time of death.
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Tear down this wall! |
“Tear down this wall!” said Mr. Reagan to Mr. Gorbachev in 1987. Who would have thought that we would be saying the same words today?
In December 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelming passed the Sensenbrenner Bill, which mandates the construction of 700 miles of a wall between Mexico and the U.S. But will a physical barrier stop the flow of undocumented workers into our country? While the great majority of 10 to 12 million immigrant workers and their families in this country are undocumented, they represent only a fraction of the estimated 100 million migrants worldwide who left their country because of dire conditions caused or aggravated by policies of world powers. Examples of pressures to migrate are numerous. In the 1980s, U.S.-financed wars and repressive military regimes caused huge population dislocations, particularly in El Salvador and Guatemala. After 12 years of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 20% of the Mexican population is trying to survive on less than two dollars a day. Mexican and Central American farmers cannot support their families when lower cost agricultural products from multinational conglomerates flood their markets. Manufacturing plants transplanted in Latin America do not provide viable alternatives. Workers who organize for better wages and working conditions find themselves on widely distributed no-hire lists. Migration becomes the only option?wall or no wall- at the border.
As a result, we have seen the Latino population in the Greater Cincinnati area swell to 30,000 to 40,000. Because these workers lack documentation, they are easy prey for unscrupulous employers. For preparing our food, cleaning our office buildings and build our homes, they are paid little (if they are paid at all), they are not compensated for workplace injuries, and they are subject to harassment and discrimination on the job. Despite this exploitation, they often do not speak up for their rights because of language differences, lack of knowledge of their rights, fear of deportation and, most importantly, the need to support their family.
Instead of building walls, we need fairness and justice. The Sensenbrenner bill would criminalize unauthorized entry into the United States, subjecting undocumented immigrants with six months in jail. On the other hand, the bipartisan McCain-Kennedy bill in the U.S. Senate would allow immigrant workers to apply for permission to work in the United States for up to six years, provide an opportunity for immigrant workers and their families to apply for permanent residency and grant these immigrants the rights to organize for better wages and working conditions. The provisions of the McCain-Kennedy bill would help tear down the figurative walls and allow immigrant workers and their families to participate in our schools, in our churches, and in our communities without fear. Tear down these walls!
- By Guest Contributor Don Sherman
ACTION PLAN
Members of the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform encourage us to call upon our elected officials to enact a comprehensive immigration reform legislation. If you would like to join the coalition, please contact Tony Steritz at csa@catholiccincinnati.org. If you have any questions feel free to contact
Don Sherman at 513-621-5991 or Margaret Singer at 513-761-1588 ext.15
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Reasons to Celebrate 2005 |
A difficult year in many ways. Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, continued Iraqi civilian death, U.S. military casualties mounting, we reached the 1000th execution nationwide, gap between rich and poor continues to widen...I don’t need to go on. I’m sure you can recite bad things & problems in your sleep. Afterall we are bombarded on a daily basis by our media by what is wrong in the world. Of course that is not the whole story either. Reality is far more complex than that. Throughout the year, and even as I write this very minute, people have been and are resolving conflicts, finding local solutions to environmental and economic woes, effectively and creatively resisting large corporations.We need to remember these folks, these efforts, these movements, too. We need to remember the power we have when we come together and organize, the possibilities for change. And we need to celebrate them! To name just a few...
GO COALITION of IMMOKALEE WORKERS GO!
After three years of a public action boycott of Taco Bell, the CIW tomato pickers reached an agreement with Taco Bell to raise the price for picking tomoatoes (nearly doubling many worker’s salaries). The CIW is now focusing its sights on McDonalds.
See www.ciw-online.org
BYE BYE INTERNATIONAL DEBT
Experieinceing a wave of public pressure, the G8 leaders agreed to cancel 100% of the debt owed by 18 of the world's most impoverished countries and to double foreign assistance to sub-Saharan Africa. www.sojo.net
KYOTO PROTOCOL STRENGTHENED
Despite the Bush administration's five-year attempt to destroy the Kyoto Protocol, the climate summit in Montreal ended with even stronger measures to combat global warming. At home, nearly 200 cities are taking their own Kyoto-type actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions. See www.globalexchange.org
OIL WEALTH for THE PEOPLE
Hugo Chavez has shown how an oil-rich nation can use the country's wealth to provide education, healthcare and small business opportunities for its people - and we here in the US have discovered an oil company we can feel good about buying gas from: Venezuela's CITGO.
TAKING ON WAL-MART
Labor, community activists and women's groups have mounted a spirited campaign against the behemoth of behemoths, Wal-Mart. And a California jury awarded $172 million to thousands of employees at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., who were denied such basic rights as lunch breaks, with 40 similar lawsuits pending in other states. See walmartwatch.com
STUDENTS STRIKE FOR LIVING WAGES
At Washington University, members of the Student Workers Association (SWA) participated in a 12 day living-wage sit-in, occupying Brookings Hall, the administration building, and launching a six-day hunger strike which ended on April 16th when the University Chancellor agreed to address the students demand that the university provide its sub-contracted service workers with benefits and pay starting at $10.05 per hour - the amount necessary to support a family of three in St. Louis. University wages currently start at $7.50. The demonstration followed a 10-day living-wage hunger strike at Georgetown University in March. Responding to pressure from more than 20 student strikers, Georgetown President John J. DeGioia agreed to raise wages for service workers from a minimum of $11.33 to $13 per hour on July 1 and $14 per hour in July 2007. See www.jwj.org
STATES TURN TO PAPER BALLOTS
Before 2003 only New Hampshire and South Dakota required paper ballots. This year, 19 more states required a paper record of every vote, bringing the total to 27. More than half the states now guarantee reliable voting machines. In Connecticut, members helped pass the most sweeping campaign finance reform in the nation's history, setting a new standard for fighting corruption. See www.electionline.org
ANTIWAR SENTIMENT BECOMES MAINSTREAM
Anti-war activists - who once represented a much-maligned minority - now represent the majority of Americans who agree that the war in Iraq was a mistake and the troops should come home as soon as possible. And with Cindy Sheehan and Cong. Jack Murtha, we finally had spokespeople the mainstream media listened to!
CREATING A SAFER GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
Despite new efforts by the biotech industry to legalize the "Terminator" gene, an experimental genetic engineering (GE) technique that makes plant seeds sterile, outcries from the scientific community and public pressure helped stop those efforts and the terminator has been (at least temporarily) terminated.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/un.htm
PASSING GROUNDBREAKING ANTI-SWEATSHOP LAWS
The San Francisco Sweatfree Coalition helped pass a law making the city government of San Francisco sweatshop-free. In addition to purchasing from certified non-sweatshops, the ordinance also includes special purchasing preferences for organic, local, and fair trade products .See www.organicconsumers.org
ANTI-DEATH PENALTY EFFORTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
96 people were sentenced to death this year, down over 60% since the late 1990s .
New York’s legislature refused to reinstate the death penalty after the state’s highest court struck it down, leaving life without parole as the punishment for capital murder.
Texas became the 37th out of 38 death penalty states to adopt the sentencing option of life without parole .
Supreme Court banned the death penalty for juveniles, thereby reducing the death sentences for 71 offenders to life.
See http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
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Our Truth in Recruiting Campaign Needs You!!! |
Did you know that in 2004…
345 military recruits came from Hamilton County…
171 military recruits came from Butler County…
108 military recruits came from Clermont County…
79 military recruits came from Kenton (Ky.) County…
40 military recruits came from Campbell (Ky.) County…
72 military recruits came from Boone (Ky.) County…
Did you know that the No Child Left Behind Act requires schools receiving federal funding to allow military recruiters access to students?
Did you know that military recruiters are entering some of our area schools as frequently as daily, weekly, or at military recruiter’s discretion?
Did you see the Channel 5 series of “Conduct Unbecoming” which highlights some of the lying and misleading practices taking place in some tri-state recruiting offices
http://www.channelcincinnati.com/video/5390890/detail.html ?
The IJPC Peace Committee is beginning a Truth in Recruiting campaign to provide information to students so that they can make an informed decision about enlisting in the military.
We plan on visiting area high schools in late January and early February to set up information tables, distribute posters and other literature (such as “10 Things to Consider Before Signing an Enlistment Agreement” and “Do I Know Enough to Enlist?”, and “Life after College: Opportunities for Young Adults”). Find these materials at http://www.ijpc-cincinnati.org/truthinrecruiting.html
WE NEED volunteers to staff the tables. Staffing will generally take place during the school day lunch hour. Two orientations will be offered in January. More orientations session will be organized. Please let me know if you are interested. Email kristen@ijpc-cincinnati.org
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