Wednesday, October 4, 2023, 10:00 AM
House Bill 259 (H.B. 259), one of two bipartisan bills to end Ohio's death penalty, will have its first of four expected committee hearings in the house this week.  Every time we have a hearing on our bill, it demonstrates that there is legislative momentum behind ending the death penalty. Each hearing we have is a step closer to a vote. Ohioans to Stop Executions is asking us to come to the Statehouse, in person, to be present for H.B. 259's first hearing.  

Our organization's team will work with folks in the major metropolitan areas of Ohio to organize carpools and transportation, as needed. If you can attend the hearing, please add your information here.  

Location:  Ohio Statehouse, room 313, 1 Capitol Square, Columbus.  

A megalomaniac is a pathological egotist, someone with a psychological disorder who exhibits symptoms like delusions of grandeur and an obsession with greatness, power or wealth.

 A sociopath is a person whose behavior is antisocial, often criminally greedy, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility, empathy or social conscience. Sociopaths never sincerely apologize nor are they capable of exhibiting remorse for wrongs that they have committed.

 A narcissist is person who has an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration, sexual gratification, applause and a lack of empathy for others.

  A paranoid person or group exhibits excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of other individuals or groups.

 A xenophobe is a person who is fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or of people from different countries or cultures.

The Columbus Coalition for Rent Control (“the Coalition”), a local nonprofit organization advocating a citizen ballot initiative, filed more than 4,200 petition signatures with the Columbus City Clerk at 11am on Tuesday, October 3, seeking a vote on a legislative proposal designed to empower citizens and encourage property owners and residential landlords to moderate rental price increases.

The group has determined that it will cease collection of petition signatures and will withdraw the petition, instead asking the City Council and council candidates for election to enact the legislation, which the Council could do on any Monday. Members of the Coalition released the following statement:

As youth violence continues to rise in Columbus, and parents of teenagers are “begging and pleading” with legal and elected authorities to arrest and lock them up (WBNS TV “Mother of son who keeps stealing cars: Please lock him up” September 27, 2023) what options are these parents being provided with if any?

As mayor of Columbus, I will allocate $3 million into our Columbus Public Health Departments budget that will provide grants to families to obtain behavioral health and social supports through the OhioRise program.