Interfaith Panel Pushes to Abolish Death Penalty
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Central Ohio clergy have formed a coalition dedicated to abolishing the state’s death penalty.
The Interfaith Coalition to Stop Execution includes Protestants, Jews, Catholics and other religions. Many members have spent nights and weekends protesting the executions of inmates since Wilford Berry was put to death in 1999, the state’s first execution since 1963.
They acknowledged that it would be a struggle to convince lawmakers and even their congregations to support their cause.
“No issue has a bigger gap, I’m told, between the pulpit and the pew than capital punishment,” said the Rev. Richard Burnett, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, where the group held a news conference.
The coalition wants a moratorium placed on the death penalty immediately while it works to convince the Legislature to study the idea.
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