*ON FEB. 8, 2018 GOV. KASICH GRANTED A REPRIEVE TO RAY UNTIL OCTOBER 17, 2018. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE CALL TO GOV. KASICH AND FEEL FREE TO CALL HIM TO THANK HIM FOR MAKING THIS DECISION*
“I think the thing that we can learn from Ray, and I know I’ve learned from Ray, is that we can change. People can be radically transformed. He’s proof that things like hope and forgiveness matter. And they can change things in a very real way. I don’t know a better example of that than Ray. You know, somebody who has embraced the truth of God’s forgiveness. God’s redemption….”
Pastor Nick Cunningham, speaking to the Ohio Parole Board
Ray Tibbetts is scheduled for execution on February 13, 2018 for the 1997 murders of Judith Sue Crawford and Fred Hicks. Ray accepts that he should be punished. He asks that his death sentence be commuted to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
The opiate crisis has a direct bearing in this case. Ray struggled from trauma-induced drug and alcohol addictions, and was able to overcome them early in his life. He had a job and a family but when doctors prescribed opiates after a workplace injury, Ray’s life spiraled out of control and his addiction fueled the crimes.
Documents available provide compelling reasons to be merciful in this case. Links to these materials are here (background), here (application for clemency), and here (supporting clemency materials). Briefly summarized:
- Ray suffered prolonged and significant abuse in his childhood home, and later in foster care and an orphanage;
- Ray was improperly prescribed opioids notwithstanding his history of substance abuse;
- Ray has taken responsibility for his actions and has become a model prisoner who is deeply Christian and successfully provides spiritual support to other prisoners;
- Important mitigation issues were not presented to the jury during the penalty phase of his trial;
Keep checking back for updates on Tibbetts’ case. His new execution date is in October 2018 and we expect to be making more clemency efforts ahead of his parole board hearing.