COLUMBUS — The death penalty could be abolished in Ohio under upcoming bipartisan legislation announced Tuesday.
It’s the latest version of a proposal that failed to get traction at the Legislature in recent years despite support from some of majority Republicans.
Two Republican state senators and two Democrats sponsoring the proposal, including Democrat Hearcel Craig of Columbus and Republican Michele Reynolds of Canal Winchester, cite the financial blow to taxpayers to keep an inmate on death row, difficulty getting lethal injection drugs, the danger of executing an innocent person and questions over a state’s right to end a life.
“I believe that life begins at conception and ends in natural death. The death penalty, as it is applied today, devalues the dignity of human life. Human life should not be a bargaining chip. What we do with human life should not be based on where you live, what race you are or your socioeconomic status,” Reynolds said.
Groups in favor of repealing the death penalty are encouraged by growing support from both sides of the aisle in the Statehouse.
“The new names that you see on this bill demonstrate just how strong the bipartisan support for ending the death penalty is in the legislature. I am very hopeful that this is the time to come together and agree that Ohio is better off without the death penalty,” said Allison Cohen, Executive Director of Ohioans to Stop Executions, which consists of the Ohio Council of Churches, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, the Ohio Conference of the NAACP, and the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center.
The repeal currently has 12 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate and will be introduced later this week, Reynolds said.
Ohio attorney general Dave Yost, who is a proponent of capital punishment, says he welcomes the chance to debate what he called a “broken” system.
“The bottom line: Ohio’s death penalty is a farce and a broken promise of justice – and it must be fixed. This discussion has been a long time coming, so let’s have it now,” he said.
The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association says the bill would cut the state’s worst criminals a break.
Currently, Ohio has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment, after GOP Gov. Mike DeWine instructed lawmakers to find an alternative method to lethal injection, citing the state’s inability to obtain the needed drugs. He has delayed several executions since.
The state’s last execution was July 18, 2018, when Ohio put to death Robert Van Hook for killing David Self in Cincinnati in 1985. Ohio currently has 134 people on death row, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.
If the bill is passed, Cohen says Ohio would become the 24th state to repeal the death penalty.