"How ridiculous can you get? Ohio Attorney General Betty
Montgomery insists that it is in Wilford Berry's best interests
that he be allowed to force the people of Ohio to help him kill
himself. She says it will do him "irreparable damage"
if his scheduled state assisted suicide is not allowed to go
through as scheduled on 3 March 1998. "Bloody Betty"
Montgomery won't do a thing to help a person on death row in
Ohio until they offer themselves up as political mincemeat. Now
she is bending over backwards to accommodate the wishes of a
murderer. It doesn't make sense. She is letting the tail wag the
dog.
"The people of the State of Ohio are not morons, and yet
they continue to be treated as such by politicians like
Montgomery, who must execute before she is up for re-election in
November in order to live up to her campaign promises to kill
prisoners. The people of Ohio need to know that viable
alternatives to the death penalty exist. When they do know that,
they prefer the alternatives instead of the death penalty by an
almost 2-1 margin. Ohioans want real crime prevention, not
political grandstanding."
--Abraham J. Bonowitz Co-Director CUADP
Co-Director Abraham J. Bonowitz, an Ohio native, will be in
Columbus beginning Sunday, March 1st, International Death
Penalty Abolition Day, until Wednesday, March 4th, the day
following the scheduled state assisted suicide of Wilford Berry.
CUADP advisory board member Sam Reese Sheppard is
available by telephone.
Interviews and appearances by
either individual may be arranged by
calling CUADP at
800-973-6548.
Ohio State University
Derby Hall, Room 0126
Survey Research Unit 154 N Oval Mall
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Columbus OH 43210-1373
Phone: 614-292-6672
FAX: 614-292-6673
Email: lavrakas.1@osu.edu
Office of the Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1 October, 1997
The Ohio State University's College of Social and
Behavioral Sciences' Survey Research Unit has just completed
a study examining the opinions of Ohioans regarding the use
of the Death Penalty. This was done as part of the September
Buckeye State Poll and consisted of three questions asked of
a random sample of 805 English speaking adults.
Following are the findings:
When asked if they favor or oppose the death penalty for
convicted murderers, 66% of Ohioans report being in favor
and another 9% being in favor under certain circumstances.
17% reported opposition, while another 8% expressed
ambivalence.
Consistent with previous research, males (74%), and
whites (71%) were more likely to report being in favor of
the death penalty than were females (59%) and
African-Americans (47%). Additionally, those over 30 years
of age (69%) those married (72%) and those with a college
degree (74%) were more inclined to favor the death penalty
than those under 30 (59%), those not married (57%) and those
without a college degree (65%).
Ohioans were also asked how likely they thought it would
be for an innocent person to be wrongly convicted and
executed. While 46% of repondents indicated it was somewhat
likely or very likely, 47% reported it was either somewhat
unlikely or very unlikely and 4% felt it was not at all
possible. (3% were unsure or refused to answer).
African-American respondents were more inclined to
believe that wrongful conviction and execution could occur
with 65% reporting it as being likely and 28% reporting it
as unlikely or not at all possible. 42% of white respondents
indicated that it was likely that someone could be convicted
and executed wrongly and 57% indicated it was unlikely or
impossible. Additionally, those without a college degree
(50%), females (53%) and those not married (55%) were more
likely to believe that someone could be wrongly convicted
and executed, as opposed to those with a college degree
(27%), males (37%) and those married (39%).
Respondents were also asked if they would prefer an
alternative to the death penalty if such an alternative
included a commitment to life in prison without parole and
an obligation to work in prison industries with the money
earned going to the victim's family. According to the
findings, 59% of Ohioans would support such an alternative,
while 31% were not in support. 9% of respondents were
unsure.
For this particular question, non-college graduates
(60%), those under 30 years of age (67%), females (68%),
those not married (64%) and African-Americans (70%) were
more likely to support this alternative than college
graduates (53%), those 30 years old or older (56%), males
(49%), those married (55%) and Whites (56%).
Methodology
The information for this survey was gathered through
telephone interviews conducted from September 6 through
September 23, 1997.
The results have been weighted to take into account
household size and the number of telephone lines in each
household and to adjust for variations in the sample
relating to county of residence, gender, age, race, and
education.
In theory, in 19 cases of 20, the results will differ by
no more than 3.5 percentage points in either direction from
what would have been obtained by interviewing all adults in
the state.
For further information contact Dr. Erik Stewart or Dr.
Paul Lavrakas at 614-292-6672.
Ohioans should know that the potential
sanctions for varying categories of murder in Ohio are (Ohio
does not have "degrees" of murder):
- Murder (purposeful killing) = life with parole
eligibility after 15 full years;
- Aggravated Murder without death-penalty specifications
(purposeful killing with prior calculation and design) =
life with parole eligibility after 20 full years;
- Aggravated Murder with death penalty specifications =
life with parole eligibility after either 25 or 30 full
years, life without parole whatsoever, or death.
YES
Ohio! There is an Alternative to the Death Penalty.
