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‘Not a deterrent.’ Gov. Mike DeWine asks Ohio lawmakers to abolish executions
By: Sarah Donaldson | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Gov. Mike DeWine asked the Ohio General Assembly to abolish executions, and said it should go before the voters, if lawmakers choose not to do so.
As DeWine gets ready to leave elected office, the longtime Republican official had been hinting at his personal opposition to capital punishment for some time. He’s delayed every scheduled execution since January 2019, some more than once, with the de facto statewide moratorium nearing eight years now.
More than 100 men and one woman are incarcerated on death row in Ohio, according to Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections data.
Its wait time now stretches longer than 22 years, with more and more inmates dying from natural causes or by suicide than from a death sentence, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s mandatory 2025 capital punishment report. The state ranks 12th of 28 states.
A growing contingent of Republican lawmakers are for abolishing executions, but House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) has said it’s not a majority of the caucus.
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