I read Kyle Kirker’s op-ed “Schmidt wrong to put convicts above victims” and as someone who lost a loved one to murder, I can tell you that Mr. Kirker is extremely wrong in his assessment of HB 183 and the abolition of Ohio’s death penalty.

I applaud Rep. Jean Schmidt and her efforts to abolish the death penalty because I know firsthand the pain the death penalty causes the families of victims. When my father was murdered in 2017, I quickly learned that the needs of victims’ families are ignored. I was told I was ineligible to receive state-provided burial help and counseling support for my father’s murder because he had drugs in his system at the time of his death. I was then told that the state would spend millions of dollars seeking death for the person who killed him. How is that justice for my family? What if we invested those millions of dollars in badly needed resources for the families of victims?

Furthermore, a death sentence means exposing the family to years of lengthy appeals, constantly reopening our wounds and refreshing our grief. And to what end? The death penalty offers only a false promise of closure and justice. Mr. Kirker even quotes the Clermont County sheriff and accurately describes how the death penalty tortures families like mine. “Clermont County Sheriff himself said, ‘to spare Bill’s family and my office the pain and suffering of sitting through a graphic trial and years of appeals that would certainly come, I feel this was the best choice.’ A murder trial delays closure and forces victims to relive their trauma day after grief-filled day.” My father’s murderer is on death row. I can assure you, from personal experience, that when a death sentence is secured, the family is forced to relive their trauma day after grief-filled day.

Beyond the implications for the families of victims, we know that the death penalty is not always administered to ‘the worst of the worst.’ Where you live, the race of your victim, and how much money you have determines who receives a death penalty rather than the severity of the crime. Not only is the death penalty arbitrarily applied, Ohio has convicted innocent people. If we want to talk about the morality of the death penalty, executing innocent people would certainly be a red flag. Retaining a racist, broken system that risks innocent lives isn’t worth keeping for the sake of a “prosecutorial tool.” I have faith that our county prosecutors will enact justice without the death penalty, as they do in the 23 states in our country without it.

Thank you for your courage and leadership, Rep. Schmidt. You have the support of many, many families like mine who are awaiting the day Ohio finally gets rid of this terrible policy.

Jonathan Mann
Vice Chair, Ohioans to Stop Executions
Columbus