Michael DiSalle
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Michael Vincent DiSalle (January 6, 1908September 16, 1981) was the 60th
governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
, serving from 1959 to 1963. A Democrat, he was a member of the Toledo City Council and served as the 46th mayor of Toledo from 1948 to 1950.


Early life

DiSalle was born on January 6, 1908, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, to
Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
immigrant parents, Anthony and Assunta DiSalle. His family moved to
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
, when he was three years old. He graduated with a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
in 1931. He married Myrtle E. England; the couple had four daughters and one son. DiSalle was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1932. In 1949, the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
conferred him an honorary
doctorate of law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...
.


Political career

In 1936, DiSalle was elected to the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
; he served one term and lost an election for the
Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...
in 1938. Following the loss, DiSalle held a series of offices in the city government of
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
. He was assistant law director from 1939 to 1941. In 1941, he was elected to the Toledo City Council; the council selected him as vice-mayor in 1943 and 1945. In
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
, DiSalle ran in the
U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
election in the Toledo-based 9th district, but he lost narrowly to the Republican incumbent, Homer A. Ramey. DiSalle was elected as mayor of Toledo in 1947 and re-elected in 1949, and served from 1948 until his resignation on November 30, 1950, to accept a federal appointment.Zimmerman, Richard. ''Call Me Mike: A Political Biography of Michael V. DiSalle.'' Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2003. . During his mayoralty, Toledo fully re-paid its debts. In
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
, he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
. He lost to then-
state auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...
Joseph T. Ferguson, who in turn lost the general election to the Republican incumbent,
Robert A. Taft Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate majority le ...
. In December 1950,
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Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
appointed DiSalle as director of the
Office of Price Stabilization An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...
, a sub-agency of the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
-era
Economic Stabilization Agency The Economic Stabilization Agency (ESA) was an Government agency, agency of the United States Government that existed from 1950 to 1953. The creation of the ESA was authorized by the Defense Production Act (, 64 Stat. 798), which was signed into ...
which established and enforced war-time price controls. DiSalle resigned as director on January 23, 1952, in order to run again for
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
. He won the Democratic nomination but lost the general election to the Republican incumbent, John W. Bricker. In December 1952, President Truman (now a lame duck) appointed DiSalle as director of the
Economic Stabilization Agency The Economic Stabilization Agency (ESA) was an Government agency, agency of the United States Government that existed from 1950 to 1953. The creation of the ESA was authorized by the Defense Production Act (, 64 Stat. 798), which was signed into ...
, replacing Roger Putnam. The appointment lasted less than one month, and President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
abolished the agency on April 30, 1953. In
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
, DiSalle was the Democratic nominee for
governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
, losing to then-
state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...
C. William O'Neill. In their 1958 re-match, DiSalle defeated O'Neill. The gubernatorial term had in 1954 been lengthened from two years to four years, starting with the 1958 election; so DiSalle served as governor from 1959 to 1963. In July 1959, DiSalle signed a bill designating "
with God, all things are possible With God, all things are possible is the motto of the U.S. state of Ohio. Quoted from the Gospel of Matthew, verse , it is the only List of U.S. state and territory mottos, state motto taken directly from the Bible (, ''para de Theō panta dynata ...
" as the official motto of the State of Ohio. The motto is derived from the
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...
, chapter 19, verse 26. DiSalle was a favorite son candidate for the Democratic nomination for
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
in 1960. He ran only in the Ohio primary, which he won with 60.25% of the vote against Albert S. Porter, who had run against him in the gubernatorial primary in 1958. Of the total popular vote in the primaries, DiSalle placed sixth behind eventual nominee Sen.
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
, as well as Gov.
Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he ...
, perennial candidate George H. McLain, Sen.
Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...
, and Sen. George Smathers. In
1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
, DiSalle lost re-election as governor to then-
state auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...
Jim Rhodes, after voters disapproved of several aspects of his administration, including his opposition to
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
, a tax increase, and a policy which billed wards of state for living necessities.


Opposition to capital punishment

DiSalle was an opponent of
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
and commuted a number of sentences as governor. He allowed six of the 12 death sentences he reviewed as governor to proceed. DiSalle stated that despite being "totally opposed to the death penalty", he could not use his power of executive clemency without mitigating circumstances or evidence of
miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when an unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent ...
. To do so would be to personally repeal the law providing for capital punishment in Ohio, and he might have been
impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...
for violating his
oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Suc ...
, DiSalle wrote. DiSalle personally investigated all cases of people scheduled to be executed by
electric chair The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New Yo ...
and even personally met with some of them. He agreed with Clinton Duffy, who said that murderers are more likely to be rehabilitated than other criminals. "To demonstrate his faith in rehabilitation, iSallemade it a point to hire convicted murderers to serve on his household staff" at the Ohio Governor's Mansion. One of DiSalle's primary concerns regarding the death penalty was that poorer defendants did not have the same access to counsel as rich defendants, and therefore would suffer the death penalty disproportionately. He recalled: "I found that the men in death row had one thing in common: they were penniless". They were defended in court by court-appointed attorneys, some without criminal legal experience. Professional criminals "did not have to depend on volunteers", DiSalle wrote. "Nor were they ever, in my experience, executed". DiSalle believed that
penology Penology (also penal theory) is a Academic discipline, subfield of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice of various societies in their attempts to repress crime, criminal activities, and satisfy public opinion via an appropriate ...
should be improved. Ronald Fenton, among the 12 cases he reviewed, had raped and murdered a baby. The governor believed that such acts had proved his insanity, but psychiatrists had found him sane. Although he believed that the
M'Naghten Rule The M'Naghten rule(s) (pronounced, and sometimes spelled, McNaughton) is a legal test defining the defence of insanity that was formulated by the House of Lords in 1843. It is the established standard in UK criminal law. Versions have been ado ...
was flawed, because of the finding—and expecting that had he been commuted to life imprisonment "his prisonmates would have made his life unbearable"—DiSalle allowed the execution. He cited the case as an example of how the justice system had failed to study the behavior of a minor criminal to prevent him from committing murder. After leaving the governorship, DiSalle co-founded and served as a chairman of the National Committee to Abolish Federal Death Penalty. His 1965 book, ''The Power of Life or Death,'' discusses this issue and chronicles his difficult experiences as the man charged with making the final decision regarding a sentence commutation. He is quoted in the book ''Mercy on Trial: What It Means to Stop an Execution'' as saying, "No one who has never watched the hands of a clock marking the last minutes of a condemned man's existence, knowing that he alone has the temporary Godlike power to stop the clock, can realize the agony of deciding an appeal for executive clemency".


Electoral history


Later life

In 1966, he joined the
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, law firm of Chapman, Duff, and Paul. In 1979, he co-founded the
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, law firm of DiSalle & Staudinger. The same year, DiSalle also authored the book ''Second Choice'', a history of the U.S. vice presidency.DiSalle, Michael V. ''Second Choice.'' Stroud, Gloucester, United Kingdom: Hawthorn Books, 1966. DiSalle led a draft movement for a potential 1968 presidential campaign by Sen.
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
. He served as the honorary chairman of Kennedy's 1980 presidential campaign. DiSalle died on September 16, 1981, of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
while vacationing in
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,
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.


Legacy

DiSalle has two current structures in Ohio named for him: *Toledo – Michael DiSalle Government Center housing federal,
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
,
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
, and
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
governmental offices. *Toledo – Michael V. DiSalle Bridge carrying
I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...
across the
Maumee River The Maumee River (pronounced ) (; ) is a river running in the Midwestern United States from northeastern Indiana into northwestern Ohio and Lake Erie. It is formed at the confluence of the St. Joseph River (Maumee River), St. Joseph and St. Mar ...
. Also, the DiSalle Center (no longer standing) at the Ohio Expo Center and the Ohio State Fair in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
, was named in honor of DiSalle.


See also

*
Ohio gubernatorial elections The voters of the U.S. state of Ohio elect a List of Governors of Ohio, governor for a four year term. There is a term limit of two consecutive terms as governor. Bold type indicates victor. ''Italic type'' indicates incumbent. Starting in 1978, ...


References


Further reading

*DiSalle, Michael V. ''The Power of Life or Death.'' New York: Random House, 1965. *DiSalle, Michael V. ''Second Choice.'' Stroud, Gloucester, United Kingdom: Hawthorn Books, 1966. *Marcus, Maeva. ''Truman and the Steel Seizure Case: The Limits of Presidential Power.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1977. . *Sarat, Austin. ''Mercy on Trial: What It Means to Stop An Execution.'' Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2005. . *Zimmerman, Richard. ''Call Me Mike: A Political Biography of Michael V. DiSalle.'' Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2003. .


External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:DiSalle, Michael 1908 births 1981 deaths American anti–death penalty activists American people of Italian descent Candidates in the 1960 United States presidential election Democratic Party governors of Ohio Georgetown University alumni Mayors of Toledo, Ohio