Ohio governor wants death penalty to end

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(The Center Square) – Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, a former prosecutor, on Tuesday came out against the death penalty in Ohio, an issue he has studied for half a century.

The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime, the governor said.

“It would seem that if the death penalty were an actual deterrent for some people, it would need to happen swiftly, quickly, and with certainty,” DeWine said. “Yet, statistically, the odds of the death penalty actually being carried out are very low, and if it is carried out, it is all but guaranteed that it will take a long time for it to happen.”

DeWine was formerly a county prosecuting attorney, a member of the Judiciary Committees in both the Ohio state Senate and U.S. Senate, and Ohio Attorney General.

“During my time as an assistant prosecutor and then as the elected prosecutor, I prosecuted no death penalty cases,” the governor said. “However, my time as a prosecutor was very impactful. It was my first opportunity to work with

victims of horrific crimes, such as rape and homicide, and to see first-hand how devastating these crimes are to the victims and their families.”

Since the death penalty was reinstated in Ohio in 1982, 337 people have been sentenced to death but only 56 have been executed.

“So, even if the murderer is caught, indicted, convicted, and sentenced to death, the odds are still pretty good they are not going to be executed,” the governor said. “The odds of a murderer being indicted for a capital offense are dramatically less today, and even if actually indicted for a capital offense, the odds of them being sentenced to death are even more remote. “

His comments drew praise from some legislators, including State Sen.

Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood.

“I am thankful to Gov. DeWine for his support in ending the death penalty in our state,” Antonio said in a statement. “I have talked with countless families and advocates and have come to understand an absolute truth: the death penalty is not justice, but rather a component of a broken justice system. Capital punishment is not the answer for Ohio. We must abolish the death penalty and seek justice for families by instituting life sentences without parole, ending their recurring trauma of the appeal process.”

There are currently bills pending in the legislature that would abolish the death penalty in Ohio.

“All three pieces of legislation have yet to receive a first hearing, with less than six months left in the General Assembly,” said Antonio. “The time to act is now. As a society, we must be better than our most heinous criminals and our flawed criminal justice system. The harsh reality is that Ohio has a capital punishment system problem. As lawmakers, it is our duty to solve it by ending it.”   

DeWine’s statement was also praised by national anti-death penalty organizations.

“The Governor’s change of position on the death penalty is part of a trend of Republicans across Ohio and nationwide questioning the death penalty,” Laura Porter, executive director, U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty, said in a statement. “Fewer than half of Americans ages 18-54 support the death penalty because it is a broken policy that is not worth holding onto.”

But Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton said whether Ohio has the death penalty is not a governor’s decision.

“As governor, my responsibility is to uphold and apply the law of Ohio,” she told The Center Square in a statement. “Given court rulings, I will respect Ohio’s current moratorium. As governor, I will take a hard look at the death penalty and will listen to Ohioans on this issue.”

A spokesperson for the campaign of Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor, said he supports the death penalty in certain circumstances.

"Vivek supports the death penalty only in the most egregious cases, and applied only after the legal process has established absolute certainty on every element of the crime, the facts, and the law,” Ramaswamy Spokesperson Connie Luck told The Center Square in a statement. 

DeWine began a moratorium on executions in Ohio in 2019 when first took office.

Robert Van Hook, who died in 2018, was the last person executed by Ohio, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.