DeWine Urges Ohio to End 100-Plus Death Sentences, Send Issue to Voters if Lawmakers Refuse
Updated
Updated · The Statehouse News Bureau · Jun 16
DeWine Urges Ohio to End 100-Plus Death Sentences, Send Issue to Voters if Lawmakers Refuse
3 articles · Updated · The Statehouse News Bureau · Jun 16
Summary
Mike DeWine said Ohio should abolish executions permanently and put the question to voters if the legislature will not act.
The Republican governor said he no longer sees a moral justification for capital punishment, does not believe it deters murder, and noted lethal injections have been stalled by drugmakers’ refusal to supply execution drugs.
Ohio has more than 100 men and one woman on death row, with waits stretching beyond 20 years as more inmates die by natural causes or suicide than by execution.
DeWine has postponed every scheduled execution since taking office in 2019, but supporters of the death penalty, including Rep. Brian Stewart, argue the delays are artificial and not a reason to scrap it.
The appeal comes as DeWine prepares to leave office after reversing the position he backed in 1981, while a growing but still minority bloc of GOP lawmakers supports repeal.
The man who wrote Ohio's death penalty law now wants it gone. What did he learn in 45 years?
With a 20% error rate and stalled executions, is Ohio's death penalty system beyond repair?
Governor DeWine Calls for Abolishing Ohio’s Death Penalty: Systemic Flaws, Public Sentiment, and the State’s Pivotal Debate
Overview
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has made a historic reversal by calling for the abolition of the state's death penalty, ending his decades-long support. This shift is driven by growing public opposition, concerns about wrongful convictions, and the high financial and moral costs of capital punishment. DeWine's personal beliefs about the sanctity of life and his long experience in the justice system also played a key role. With Ohio's executions already paused and systemic flaws under scrutiny, DeWine urges the legislature to repeal the death penalty or let voters decide, reflecting a major turning point in the state's approach to capital punishment.