The former Director of Ohio Prisons, Terry Collins, recently urged Gov. John Kasich to spare the life of Clarence Carter, who is scheduled to be executed on April 12 for the murder of another inmate. Carter killed the inmate during a jailhouse fight in 1988. Collins, who had 30 years of experience working with prisoners, discussed whether this crime merited the death penalty, “It is much more likely that this was an inmate fight that got tragically out of hand. Inmate-on-inmate violence in lockups is often pursued to establish oneself as fearsome and to deter others from threatening or attacking the inmate.” He also said there is no evidence that Carter planned to kill Allen during the fight. Collins witnessed 33 executions during this tenure, which included being head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

After his retirement in 2010, Collins said he opposed the death penalty because he feels it cannot be administered fairly, is expensive and offers no second chances.

(A. Johnson, “Past prisons chief urges clemency for condemned killer,” Columbus Dispatch, March 29, 2011). See New Voices and Arbitrariness.

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