Catholic priest forms unlikely bond with Death Row inmate

[rug]

By JoAnne Viviano
The Columbus Dispatch
Sunday August 18, 2013 6:17 AM

When Death Row inmate Mark Wiles asked the Rev. Lawrence Hummer to comfort him during his final hours, the Catholic priest agreed.

“The only thing is, I’m a little bit afraid of screwing it up because I’ve never done this before,” Hummer told him.

Wiles reassured him, saying, “I’ve never done this before, either.”

Hummer, a priest for 40 years, has a contract to counsel Catholic inmates at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution. When Death Row moved to the prison in 2011, his role expanded to include men facing execution.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/08/18/catholic-priest-forms-unlikely-bond-with-death-row-inmate.html