Legislation planned to end death penalty in Ohio

A bipartisan group of lawmakers want to end the death penalty in Ohio, and Attorney General Dave Yost called the state’s death penalty a farce and welcomes the debate.

Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Sens. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus, and Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, announced plans Tuesday to introduce legislation that would stop the death penalty and move the state to life without parole for capital crimes.

“It is time for the state of Ohio to take the pragmatic, economically prudent and principled step to end capital punishment,” Antonio said. “It will take all of us working together to make this kind of monumental change in Ohio. Today, we join a growing call for abolition, against a backdrop of public opinion, which increasingly favors life sentences over the use of the death penalty in Ohio and across the nation.”

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Yost said he supports the death penalty, especially for “the most heinous offenders,” those already serving life who he says has nothing to lose by killing a corrections officer.

“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,” Yost said. “If Ohio chooses to end capital punishment, let it own the decision in the full light of day. I will stand on the other side, with the families of the slain.”

A 2021 poll by the Tarrance Group and published by Death Penalty Information Center showed 54% of Ohioans at the time supported ending the death penalty.

The lawmakers also pointed to a report from the same organization that said the death penalty is given out with disparities along racial and economic lines and has failed as a deterrent to violent crime.

“Like so many Ohioans, I once supported capital punishment and over time, with prayer and reflection, have come to believe it’s the wrong policy for the state of Ohio,” Huffman said.

Reynolds said human life should not be used as a bargaining chip.

“I believe that life begins at conception and ends in natural death,” Reynolds said. “The death penalty, as it is applied today, devalues the dignity of human life. What we do with a human life should not be based on where you live, what race you are or your socioeconomic status. I am pleased to join my fellow legislators on this important legislation and it is my prayer that we can end the death penalty and affirm the dignity of life for all Ohioans.”