Two recent programs helped shine a spotlight on efforts to end the death penalty in Ohio. They featured remarks by Elwood Jones, the 12th innocent man freed from Ohio’s death row and the most recent death row exoneree in the country, as well as personal reflections from two religious sisters who were impacted personally by murder.
Sister Maureen McCarthy, OSU, former president of the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, and Sister Rita Mary Harwood, SND spoke at the March 18 programs, one at lunchtime that was hosted by Ursuline College and an evening event at John Carroll University.
Sister McCarthy, who led her congregation at the time, talked at the Ursuline event about the 1995 murder of Sister Joanne Marie Mascha, OSU and its effect on her fellow sisters. Sister Mascha was killed while walking in the woods near the Ursuline motherhouse. She was known for her gentleness and love of nature. Her killer, a mentally disturbed neighbor, was arrested, tried and convicted. The sisters asked that he not receive the death penalty, noting that they believe that taking a life for a life continues the cycle of violence. They also believe that all life is sacred and there are more humane ways of punishment, including life imprisonment.
Sister Mascha’s killer was sentenced to life in prison on a technicality. Years later, he surprised the sisters by sending a letter asking for their forgiveness.
Sister Harwood talked the long-ago murder of her beloved younger brother Bill – something about which she had not spoken publicly before. A 23-year-old Vietnam veteran, he had returned home six months earlier and was walking with a friend at Detroit Avenue and West 85th Street, near the old St. John Hospital, when he was shot randomly by a man in a car. His spine was severed and he suffered severe blood loss. Although he was rushed into surgery, he died a few days later. The man who shot him was out on bond after being arrested on another charge. He was arrested again after Harwood’s death.
Sister Harwood said due to a plea bargain, the man who shot her brother wasn’t tried for his murder. She shared her opposition to the death penalty and her deep involvement with prison ministry in the diocese.
Jones also told his story of being wrongly convicted of the 1994 murder of a woman at a Cincinnati, Ohio hotel. He said the prosecutor never considered some key evidence that later led to his exoneration after 27 ½ years on death row.
“The man above – the Lord – and my faith kept me going,” said Jones, adding he lost everything when he was convicted.
Both programs were facilitated by Stephan Rochefort of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, who shared facts and statistics about the death penalty, which he said back up claims that it is not a deterrent to violent crime.
Rochefort encouraged program attendees to write to state legislators to encourage passage of House Bill 72 and Senate Bill 134, which would prohibit using state tax dollars to fund the intentional termination of human life, a position consistent with Catholic Social Teaching.
He said the Catholic Conference of Ohio, which includes the Catholic bishops in the state, has long advocated against the death penalty. “We Catholic bishops of Ohio have consistently advocated for an end to the use of the death penalty. We seek mercy because we believe that spiritual conversion is possible and that all life, even that of the worst offender has value and dignity,” the bishops wrote in 2015 as they urged an end to the use of the death penalty in Ohio.
The programs were presented by the Catholic Charities Diocesan Social Action Office, Catholic Mobilizing Network, the diocesan Secretariat for Catechetical Formation and Parish Life, John Carroll University and Ursuline College.
For more information, email stephan@catholicsmobilizing.org.