My heart is heavy over the execution of Michael Tisius on Tuesday, June 6. That day I attended my 7 th noon vigil, sponsored by the Missouri Catholic Conference, outside Governor Parson’s office during his tenure, all of which were to appeal to him to grant clemency and show mercy to those about to be executed, that is, murdered by the State of Missouri. Not once has the Governor shown the moral courage to do so. 

In the recent case of Michael Tisius, Governor Parson’s callous inaction was especially grevious. Michael Tisius expressed everlasting remorse to the families of Jason Acton and Leon Egley, the young Randolph County jailers he murdered on June 22, 2000, when he was 19. On May 22, 2023, the American Bar Association, in a letter to Governor Parson, called for jurisdictions to prohibit the execution of any individual who was 21 years old or younger at the time of the offense because of thier neurological development and capacity for change. Michael Tisius, according to his attorney, did change. His attorney said, “we watched the growth and maturity of a young man, who was neglected by his mother, abandoned by his father, and callously and viciously beaten by his brother, learn how to form lasting, loving relationships. He learned how to trust. He learned how to value himself. He never knew how to do these things, but he learned in prison. He channeled his sense of self-worth into good deeds: like donating his artwork for battered women’s shelters.”

Apprals for clemency for Michael Tisius were offered numerous times by his attorney, the American Bar Association, the NAACP, Missourians to End the Death Penalty, thousands of Missourians, and Archbishop Christophe Pierre on behalf of Pope Francis. 

However, those appeals were ignored by the Governor, who is governed by his penchant for law and order not justice and mercy. Consequently, Nimrod Chapel, Jr, president of the Missouri Chapter of the NAACP, says “ Missouri is continuing its journey toward a culture of death.” Missouri is second only to Texas in the number of state murders this year, 3 and 4 respectively; and Missouri is about a fifth the size of Texas. Not a great partnership! 

I lament the fact that the Governor does not lead the State of Missouri to adhere to the Mosiac Law: “Thou Shall Not Kill”! 

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Rev. Dr. John H. Bennett
Disciples of Christ Clergy (ret.)

“Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing stream.”
(Amos 5:24)