death penalty
Law, religion come together in support of death penalty ban
Supporters of a measure to eliminate the death penalty in Ohio include religious and legal leaders, who say the concept is both a waste of the state’s money and time, and unethical. “The death penalty is the most inefficient government program in existence in Ohio today,” said Timothy Young, Ohio’s state public defender. “I don’t […]
Son of murder victim urges legislature to end death penalty quickly
By Jonathan Mann Thomas Knuff, the man who murdered my father, was sentenced to death in 2019. Knuff brutally murdered my father and I live with the pain and grief of that violent loss every single day. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley sought the death penalty for Thomas Knuff and got the conviction. But when […]
Ohio AG: Clear death penalty roadblocks or get rid of it
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost last week used an annual report to draw attention to the fact that 140 people are languishing on death row because Ohio’s death penalty machinery “has grown increasingly time consuming, costly and lethargic.” Yost, a former prosecutor, might be expected to call for ways to speed up executions. But in […]
Chances for Ohio death penalty repeal appear to be growing
The biggest-ever bipartisan coalition on Thursday announced a renewed effort to repeal the death penalty in Ohio. State Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, hosted a virtual press conference to announce that they and three other Republican and four Democratic senators so far have said they will co-sponsor the repeal legislation. […]
Poll: Big majority in Ohio support getting rid of the death penalty
Almost 60% of Ohioans support replacing the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to a poll conducted late last year and released on Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the advocacy group Ohioans to Stop Executions. In addition, a majority supports a full repeal, including […]
Death sentences, executions continue to fade in 2020
The numbers of death sentences, executions and public support for the death penalty continued to fall in 2020. And ironically, as it killed so many, the coronavirus pandemic slowed the death penalty even more, according to the Death Penalty Information Center’s annual report. The center reported that the 17 executions carried out this year was […]
Bill prohibiting death penalty for mentally ill heads to governor’s desk
A bill to prohibit the death penalty for convicted killers if they suffer from a serious mental illness is headed to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk. Members of the Ohio House of Representatives passed the bill Thursday, a week after it cleared the Ohio Senate. As previously reported, House Bill 136 spares a person convicted of […]
Ohio might have performed its last execution
Gov. Mike Dewine’s latest statement on lethal injections could mean the Ohio death house has seen its last execution. The state hasn’t executed anybody since July 2018, when convicted killer Robert Van Hook wheezed and gasped as he died on a gurney at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility outside Lucasville. DeWine, who took office the […]
Senate approves bill prohibiting death penalty for mentally ill
Ohio Senators approved a bill Wednesday that would prohibit a convicted murderer from being sentenced to death if they suffered from a serious mental illness at the time of the killing. The near-unanimous, bipartisan vote marks the next step in a years-long legislative effort to exempt those with certain mental illnesses from death row. The […]
Ohio issues highlighted in report on racial disparities in executions
A line can be drawn from lynchings and other gross acts of historic racial discrimination and the fact that minorities disproportionately are executed now, according to a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center.
Ohio faces second year with no executions
When Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine last week delayed three more executions into 2022 and 2023, it meant that 2020 would be the second consecutive year in which the Buckeye State had engaged in no judicial killings. The delays raise the question: Will the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility ever be used again […]
Push for death penalty elimination continues with upcoming legislation
Current and former legislators, religious leaders and advocacy groups came together Wednesday to announce an upcoming bill to eliminate the death penalty in Ohio. State Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, brought the groups together to promote the concept of life without parole being the highest criminal punishment in the state. The legislator has introduced a bill […]