Thank you Gov. Strickland for not executing Kevin Keith!

September 3, 2010 at 2:24 PM

Bucking the opinion of his parole board and conventional political wisdom, Ohio’s governor did something very amazing on Thursday, September 2.

Gov. Ted Strickland intervened to prevent the execution of a man convicted of murdering three people, including a child. This was no small act in a very political season. But Strickland did his job. He carefully reviewed the evidence in a terrible murder case. He recognized that the case is plagued by very serious errors in its investigation and that doubts persist about whether Keith even committed the crime at hand.

Join us in thanking Ohio’s governor for commuting Kevin Keith’s death sentence.

It is the function of executive clemency power to be a check on the judicial process because cases can slip through the cracks. And Kevin Keith’s case, not to mention his life, almost slipped right through the cracks of human error and injustice. Case after case, we see that the U.S. justice system is far too comfortable with doubt, bias and error. How could 138 people wait on death row to be executed only for it to be discovered in time that they were wrongfully convicted? What kind of system allows for such a high error rate when human life is on the line?

Gov. Strickland’s act is a bright spot amidst a continuous and macabre calendar of scheduled state killings. Perhaps authorities in all U.S. states will take notice that our death penalty system is so riddled with problems that abolition is the only true failsafe against wrongful executions.

In the meantime, we urge authorities examining cases where doubts persist and have not been fully resolved to halt executions lest they be complicit in a grave and irreversible tragedy. Certainly the leadership of Gov. Strickland could be very instructional for Georgia authorities in looking at the Troy Davis case, where courts have reviewed his case, yet serious doubts about guilt still persist.

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14 thoughts on “Thank you Gov. Strickland for not executing Kevin Keith!”

  1. Thank you so much, Gov. Strickland. This is just proof that there still is justice, in some places, in this country.

  2. It is good that the clemency system does exist for this very purpose, to prevent a horible mistake. However, most of those low-lifes need to fry!

    This is why we have checks and balances.

  3. Thank you so much, Gov. Strickland. This is just proof that there still is justice, in some places, in this country.

  4. Well, that seems like good news! Thanks, Gov. Strickland, for saving the life of Kevin Keith and granting him clemency! Now our struggle to prove Kevin's innocence will continue as normal. Hopefully we may find new evidence of innocence that should be enough to get him a new trial. 🙂

  5. It is good that the clemency system does exist for this very purpose, to prevent a horible mistake. However, most of those low-lifes need to fry!

    This is why we have checks and balances.

  7. Well, that seems like good news! Thanks, Gov. Strickland, for saving the life of Kevin Keith and granting him clemency! Now our struggle to prove Kevin’s innocence will continue as normal. Hopefully we may find new evidence of innocence that should be enough to get him a new trial. 🙂

  9. I believe in the death penalty… i believe that child rapists, murders etc do not deserve to sit in prison paid for by tax payers. But I think this should only be for really horrendous crimes and only if its beyond all doubts. This case seems one of those that cant be judged as 'beyond all doubt' so therefore Gov. Strickland is very right to have stepped in.

  10. I believe in the death penalty… i believe that child rapists, murders etc do not deserve to sit in prison paid for by tax payers. But I think this should only be for really horrendous crimes and only if its beyond all doubts. This case seems one of those that cant be judged as ‘beyond all doubt’ so therefore Gov. Strickland is very right to have stepped in.

  11. Thank you, Governor Strickland, for having the courage and statesmanship to stand up for what is right–even in the face of enormous criticism for doing so. That, my good Sir, is what defines and separates a statesman from a politician–the ability and above all else the courage to do what is morally and ethically right, even and especially when it is politically inexpedient. You just went up considerably in my humble estimation. I sure wish more of our elected officials would show the same sort of moral backbone and resolve you just displayed. Were that the case, my opinion of our government would be much better. Job well done indeed! Bravo!

  12. Thank you, Governor Strickland, for having the courage and statesmanship to stand up for what is right–even in the face of enormous criticism for doing so. That, my good Sir, is what defines and separates a statesman from a politician–the ability and above all else the courage to do what is morally and ethically right, even and especially when it is politically inexpedient. You just went up considerably in my humble estimation. I sure wish more of our elected officials would show the same sort of moral backbone and resolve you just displayed. Were that the case, my opinion of our government would be much better. Job well done indeed! Bravo!

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