Notes from meeting with Ruslyn Case-
Compton and Nancy Jo Kemper
Lexington, Ky., May 10, 2006
Doug Stern, Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
Names
e The name at the top of Nancy Jo’s list was Harold
Dorsey, a retired Methodist pastor who’s anti-death
penalty and a murder victim family member. I later
Googled him and came up with several hits, including a
bio page on the Kentucky Wesleyan College site (http://
www.kwe.edu/alumni_detail.asp?page=Dorsey). Rev.
Dorsey also apparently helped preside over Dr. Tom
Clark’s funeral.
e Steve Hecky, Newport, is on the board of the Council of
Churches and a member of the United Church of Christ.
e The name Connie Kotzbauer came up. She’s from
Lexington, Christ the King parish. I have to check
back with Ruslyn or Nancy Jo, however, because my notes
aren’t clear.
e In Paducah, Nancy Jo suggested looking up Rob Rountree...
an Evangelical “Soujourner type” active in social
justice issues.
e She also mentioned the name of John David Dyche,
Louisville.
e Ruslyn went through her BlackBerry and offered the
following names:
Y Dick Murphy, Owensboro Diocese, 270-683-1545
v Gwen, the contact in the Prestonsburg office of the
Lexington Diocese, 606-874-9170.
vy Sr. Nancy Casey, 606-664-9576, in the Harlan office
of the Lexington Diocese.
v Fr. Ralph Beiting, 606-638-0219, is pastor of St.
Jude’s in Louisa and a close friend of Rep. Hal
Notes from meeting with Ruslyn Case-Compton and Nancy Jo
Kemper
Page 2 of 2
Rogers.
e Jerry Roland is with the community ministry in Hazard
and recipient of a recent Ford Foundation award; and,
Andrew Dinsmore is in Pike County..
e Ruslyn offered a regional directory of the Lexington
Diocese with various leads. At the top was Fr. Norman
Fischer Jr., Regional Coordinator of the Bluegrass East
Region. Within that region, she believed that Fr. Jay
Von Handorf, pastor of Jesus Our Savior in Morehead,
would be a good place to start. That’s based on what
she knows about his work with immigration reform.
Process
Both Ruslyn and Nancy Jo suggested that Evangelicals would
have the most currency with Lawmakers on the death penalty
issue. They’re conservative, Scriptural and not afraid to
lobby.
Nancy Jo said that we should consider working with the
Evangelical ministry if we aren’t already. Our goal?: Get
abolition inserted into sermons, Sunday School questions and
the like.
Fr. John Rausch’s work on prisons and social justice came up
again. There’s apparently a June 8 meeting on theology and
social concerns.
Finally, Ruslyn offered her husband, Charles, as a resource
for what’s going on in Eastern Kentucky. He’s the news
director at WEKU-FM and can be reached at
chas.compton@weku.edu.
