September 24, 2003

Anti-death penalty movement comes to Xavier

Melissa Mosko
Senior News Editor

A large group of murder victims’ family members, inmates freed from death row and family members of death row inmates are touring Ohio for 17 days in hopes of spreading their message across the state for abolishing the death penatly.

Xavier is hosting three stops along the “Journey of Hope” on Monday, Sept. 29.

The Journey will kick-off on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Church in West Chester with a speech by Sr. Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and abolition expert. MUSE, the Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, will be performing as well.

One of the highlights of the events at Xavier University will be held at the Dorothy Day House during their weekly vegetarian meal served on Monday nights.

The weekly “veg-out,” on the 29th will be joined by Bill Pelke and Shirley Dicks, from Journey of Hope.

Pelke, an Alaska resident, is the founder of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation, and president and co-founder of Journey of Hope.

Pelke’s grandmother was murdered by a 15-year-old girl, who became the youngest woman on Death Row in America.

Pelke forgave the woman, and worked on her case for commutation of her death sentence.

Dicks is the mother of a former death row inmate who was wrongly convicted and charged. After 22 years on Death Row, her son died of medical neglect while in prison.

Now, she actively works for abolition of the death penalty and also for proper medical treatment for all inmates.

“I feel that we don’t subtract violence by adding violence,” said Rev. Ben Urmston, S.J., of Xavier’s Peace and Justice Programs who brought the Journey of Hope speakers to campus. “To me, executing people is a violent act, and it is an unnecessary violent act.”

More than half of the Journey of Hope events coming to Cincinnati are hosted by high schools and colleges. Members of the Journey believe education about the death penalty is an important step to abolition.

Dr. John Sniegocki of the Xavier Theology Department has requested speakers to educate his students on the death penalty. Juan Melendez and Maria Hines will be visiting his Theological Foundations classes Monday morning to speak with his students.

Melendez is a farm worker freed from Florida’s death row in 2002, and speaks out against the death penalty frequently.

Hines’ brother was killed in the line of duty in 1989, for which his murderer received the death penalty. She has become a member of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and is a former board member of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation.

Pelke and Dicks will speak at another Xavier event, open to the public, on Monday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Please contact Sr. Rosie Miller for location and additional information.