Forgiveness and Humanitarian Activist
Billʼs story is an exceptional one. With every reason to hate, Bill showed love instead. On May 14th 1985 his grandmother, Ruth Elizabeth Pelke was murdered. Ruth was a Bible teacher who tried to reach out to four teenage girls. The girls robbed her and murdered her. It was a horrible crime – one that Bill understandably found hard to forgive.
Paula Cooper was deemed to be the ringleader of the robbery and murder of Ruth Pelke. Although she was just 15 years old at the time, she was sentenced to die in Indianaʼs electric chair. At first Bill had no problem with that. He supported the sentence as did members of his family. But in 1986 Bill embarked on a spiritual journey – one that has subsequently taken him around the world, spreading a quite different message.
Bill went through a spiritual transformation in 1986 after praying to be able to find love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family. His prayers were answered. He became successfully involved in an international crusade on Paulaʼs behalf. Over 2 million people from Europe, mostly Italy, signed petitions that Paula be removed from death row. Among them was the recently canonised Pope John Paul II. In 1989 Paulaʼs sentence commuted to sixty years in prison.
Bill, a retired steelworker, dedicated his life to working for abolition of the death penalty. He shares his story of forgiveness and compassion and the healing power of forgiveness widely.
He has travelled to over forty states and fifteen countries with the Journey of Hope and has told his story thousands of times. Bill is the President and Co-founder of Journey of Hope…From Violence to Healing; as well as being its Chair previously. He served as Board Chair of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and was a founding board member of Murder Victimsʼ Families for Human Rights. Billʼs credentials in fighting to end the death penalty are second to none.
https://www.journeyofhope.org/