Ron and Carolyn Callen
Michigan & Ohio
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In 1991, Ron Callen's mother, Leona Callen, was brutally beaten and
murdered in her home in a suburb of Akron, Ohio. With excellent police and
prosecutorial work, made possible by a municipality with good tax support
and a low crime rate, the murderer was quickly arrested, tried and
convicted. He had apparently intended to burglarize Leona Callen's home when
she surprised him.
The police department, despite its excellent efforts to resolve the
murder, was fully convinced of the value of executing the 28 - year old
perpetrator. The Callen family's plea not to invoke the death penalty
resulted in sparing the young man's life. In addition, it led to swift
justice and the family's quick release from the case. The Callens were
spared the years of agonizing over whether the murderer would be executed
that families calling for the death penalty often endure. They were able to
focus instead on the memory of their mother and grandmother and the legacy
of love and caring she exhibited throughout her life.
Reprinted with permission from
"Not In Our Name: Murder Victims Families Speak Out Against the Death
Penalty," a publication of Murder Victims Families ForReconciliation,
Barbara Hood & Rachel King, Editors. MVFR
Ron and Carolyn Callen Quotes:
"When we moved to Michigan from the East
Coast over 30 years ago, we felt proud to live in a state that had never had
capital punishment. After Ron's mother was murdered in Ohio, a death penalty
state, we felt the same firm opposition to the death penalty. When the case
came to be prosecuted, three sons and daughter-in-law independently voiced
their support for our position, and we petitioned the county prosecutor not to
seek capital punishment.
We have always believed that no human has the
right to take another's life. We could never condone such an act. Even
Mother's horrible murder could not change that.
In similar situations, so many people seem to
focus exclusively on the terrible action of the murderer. But we firmly
believe that the fundamental question is how we as a civilized society
will act. To kill out of fear, hatred and retribution is to demean us all
and ultimately to commit a second act of murder."
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