Ohio is planning to execute Ray Tibbetts next Tuesday, February 13. Ray experienced severe childhood abuse and neglect that led to a serious substance abuse problem. This doesn't excuse Ray's later crimes, but it does show that he is not the "worst of the worst." Thread:
Ray is one of five children. His father was an alcoholic and his mother was a drug addict. Ray's older sister describes their mother as "one of the cruelest women she has known" and recalls jumping into her brother's crib to protect him from their parents' violence.
Ray's father brutally abused his mother, beating her bloody with metal fan blades and a telephone. The home was a place of constant violence. When Ray was two years old, he and his siblings were removed from their parents' care and placed in the foster system.
Things only got worse at the foster home. At night, Ray and his two brothers were tied down to a single bed with rope so that they could not move. There were no sheets or blankets on the bed. During the day, the boys were placed in the kitchen corner and not allowed to move.
Ray and his siblings were fed very little and became malnourished while the foster family's biological children were fed normal meals. Ray's foster mother took prescription drugs and left child supervision to her teenage biological daughters.
At the foster home, Ray and his brothers were kicked down the basement steps, had their fingers beaten with spatulas, and were burned on register heaters. Ray's mother took his two older siblings home, but left him and his brothers in the nightmarish foster home.
The boys were eventually removed from the foster home and placed with a different family. Their biological parents picked the boys up on weekends and often brought them back to the original foster home for "visits."
Ray's new foster home wasn't any better. Case workers noted that the foster family wasn't fit to care for children, but Ray and his brother remained in the home for 10 years. Ray's brother was tied up by their foster father and Ray was forced to watch as he was pelted with rocks.
Both boys were beaten with a two-by-four piece of lumber until they were knocked unconscious. Ray and his brother were treated as "slave labor" by their foster parents. Ray's brother says that he was sexually abused at the foster home.
Ray and his brother ran away from their foster home and were placed in a juvenile detention center. They preferred to remain incarcerated rather than return to the foster family. Both boys were eventually moved to an orphanage.
Years of abuse and neglect impaired Ray's brain development. This in turn led to serious mental health and substance abuse problems as Ray attempted to cope with the trauma he had endured.
Unlike many addicts, Ray sought out treatment several times. Things spiraled out of control when he was inappropriately prescribed an addictive narcotic painkiller after a work injury.
Ray was admitted to the hospital several times after reporting that voices told him to kill himself. Ray never received the kind of treatment that might have helped him overcome his addiction. Instead, he was booted back to the streets after detoxing.
When Ray killed Judith Sue Crawford and Fred Hicks, he was in a drug-induced blackout. He has no memory of the murders to this day, but he takes full responsibility for his actions. Ray says that he wishes he could switch places with Crawford and Hicks.
None of this information was presented to the jurors at Ray's trial. Ray's siblings were never contacted and there was no real investigation into his life. One juror recently came forward and said that he would have voted for life had he known the truth about Ray's background.
Ray is a positive and productive member of the prison community. He is a devout Christian, attends Bible study, and provides spiritual guidance to other prisoners.
Ray Tibbetts is not the "worst of the worst." Ray never even had a chance. Society failed him when he was a child, but we don't have to fail him now. This is a clear case for clemency. I urge Gov. @JohnKasich to act now. You can stop this unjust execution, Governor Kasich.
