Sunday, February 14, 1999
Pressure grows for Taft to halt Berry execution
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Gov. Bob Taft is being flooded by requests from lawmakers, religious leaders and the public to stop Friday's execution of Wilford Berry. The relatives of the Cleveland man he killed, however, are urging the governor not to be swayed.
Mr. Taft's office has received nearly 3,000 letters and more than 700 phone calls requesting clemency for Mr. Berry, 36, who was convicted of killing baker Charles Mitroff during a 1989 robbery. The most prominent plea came from Pope John Paul II.
Mr. Taft's office had received 70 letters and 49 calls last week favoring execution.
One of those calls came from Eleanor and Richard Bowler of Garfield Heights. Mrs. Bowler is Mr. Mitroff's sister. The Bowlers called Friday after they became upset with a Cleveland-area radio program.
“A woman was saying it was unfair to execute him because he was a proven schizophrenic,” Mrs. Bowler said. “I would just like to explain to (the governor) that not everybody is bleeding for Wilford Berry.”
Taft spokesman Scott Milburn said Chief Legal Counsel William Klatt probably will call the couple Tuesday. That is the same day Mr. Taft is to meet with 15 state legislators who want him to spare Mr. Berry's life.
About 175 people protested the execution on Saturday outside the governor's mansion in suburban Bexley. They carried signs, sang, held candles and listened to speakers.
The Rev. David Chase, who has been meeting with Mr. Berry, says he has shown no fear of dying.
“He has always given me the impression of being in his right mind. I believe he is.”
Mr. Taft, a death penalty supporter, has not revealed much about the decision he faces.
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