Mike DeWine Calls On Ohio Lawmakers To Abolish The Death Penalty

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called on state lawmakers to abolish the death penalty, saying evidence shows it is no longer a deterrent to violent crime and that “Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.”

“Republican Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine has announced that he now opposes the death penalty, calling for an end to the punishment he once helped revive in his state”

Al Jazeera

Speaking at a news conference in Columbus, the state’s capital, the 79-year-old Republican said he no longer believes the argument he once made “can be successfully made,” and he urged repeal by the Ohio General Assembly.

Al Jazeera

DeWine said condemned inmates face decades of legal appeals, leaving “the chances of a murderer getting executed get more and more remote,” and he pointed to charts showing the number of death sentences has diminished over time.

He also said condemned murderers are increasingly unlikely to ever be executed, sometimes dying by natural causes or by suicide before their execution date arrives, and he cited the emotional toll on victims’ families and the mental health burden on state employees who serve on execution teams.

DeWine’s announcement came as he faces a term limit in December and has repeatedly postponed scheduled executions during his seven years as governor, including a de facto moratorium tied to concerns about lethal injection protocol and pharmaceutical suppliers’ willingness to provide drugs.

DeWine’s call for abolition immediately collided with Republican resistance in the Ohio State House, where House Speaker Matt Huffman said in February he would “vigorously oppose” repeal efforts.

The governor’s position also drew praise from Catholic advocates for abolition, with Catholic Conference of Ohio executive director Brian Hickey saying, “In a state and country in which alternatives to execution exist, we should support punishments that are in greater conformity with the dignity of the human person.”

Daily Sitka Sentinel

DeWine said he is calling for repeal and, if lawmakers do not act, he wants the question put to voters statewide in a referendum, framing the decision as one the legislature can leave to “the people of the state of Ohio.”

News coverage also highlighted that DeWine has effectively halted executions since taking office in 2019, and that he has cited pharmaceutical suppliers’ unwillingness to provide drugs used in lethal injections.

In the same policy context, DeWine’s reversal was described as a break from the Republican who helped write Ohio’s capital punishment law 45 years ago, with Newsweek noting it could reshape the future of Ohio’s 114-person death row.

DeWine argued that the death penalty’s deterrent value is neutralized by delay, saying the average time between a death sentence and execution in Ohio is 21 years.

“Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that he supports abolishing the state’s death penalty, a dramatic reversal from the Republican who helped write Ohio’s capital punishment law 45 years ago”

Newsweek

He also said that of the 337 people sentenced to death since the law took effect in 1981, only 56 have been executed, while 41 died on death row of natural causes or by suicide before their sentences were carried out.

WTAP reported that courts removed an additional 89 death sentences, including for legal errors such as ineffective assistance of counsel and procedural violations, and that the number of death sentences handed down each year has declined sharply.

DeWine’s remarks were tied to how Ohio’s capital punishment system has functioned in practice, with the last execution in Ohio occurring on July 18, 2018, when Robert Van Hook was executed for stabbing a man he met at a Cincinnati bar in 1985.

As DeWine urged abolition, the sources also described a continuing political and procedural standoff, including that Ohio had 30 executions scheduled over the next four years according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, even as DeWine said he expects no further executions during his term.