Death penalty opponents saddened but undeterred after Ross execution

Published: 2005-05-26

SOMERS, Conn. (CNS) -- Although the battle by death penalty opponents to keep convicted murderer Michael Ross from being executed by the state of Connecticut ended in the early morning hours of May 13, many said they are undeterred in the larger fight to ban capital punishment. "I don't see capital punishment as about Michael Ross," said Robert Meeropol, the keynote speaker at a May 7 conference on "The Death Penalty as a Social Justice Issue," sponsored by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Springfield, Mass. Meeropol, an Easthampton resident, was 6 years old when his parents, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, were executed in 1953 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. "Michael Ross is a poster child for execution," Meeropol told his audience of approximately 100. He said he opposes capital punishment in part because it is an institution and is not just about one or two people. "If you have capital punishment, you'll get some people like Michael Ross, but you'll also get some people who were convicted by mistake," he added.

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