Baston was arrested after police recieved information that he was involved in the robbery of a retail store in Toledo, Ohio, during the course of which Chong Hoon Mah was fatally shot. Baston told police he had participated in the robbery with an accomplice called 'Ray', a high-ranking gang member, who was the gunman. When the police could not locate 'Ray', they believed Baston must have acted alone. He pled not guilty, and was sentenced to death in 1995 when he was just over 20-years-old, and has been on death row for 16 years.
Baston had a difficult childhood. After being abandoned by his mother soon after his birth, he suffered physical abuse and neglect at the hands of his father, and was adopted by an aunt. At a clemency hearing before the Ohio Adult Parole Authority earlier in the month, she said his parental abandonment had led to severe behavioural problems in his teenage years. She threw him out of the house a week before the crime.
The Mah family are opposed to the execution because of their respect for human life. The family were opposed to the death penalty during the trial as well. Last month, Chong Mah's son signed a statement that "my family and I are opposed to Mr Baston being executed".
You can read more about the case here.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Acknowledging the seriousness of the crime for which Johnnie Baston was sentenced to death;
- Calling on the governor to commute the death sentence and to work to lead Ohio away from the death penalty.
APPEALS TO:
Governor of Ohio
Governor John Kasich
Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 South High Street
Columbus, Oh 43215-6117,
USA
Fax: 1 614 466 9354
Email: http://governor.ohio.gov/ShareYourIdeas.aspx
Salutation: Dear Governor
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
You can email us at deathwatchstardoll@hotmail.co.uk if you want to know more.
No comments:
Post a Comment