Governor Mike DeWine is calling on Ohio lawmakers to abolish the death penalty, saying he no longer believes capital punishment serves as a deterrent to violent crime.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday morning, DeWine reflected on his decades-long evolution on the issue, tracing it back to 1981 when he voted as a state senator to reinstate Ohio’s death penalty.
“When I voted for the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1981, I believed that capital punishment could serve as a deterrent to keep some people from killing,” DeWine said.
At the time, he argued, the logic seemed straightforward: if people knew they could be executed for committing murder, some might choose not to commit the crime. But after decades in public office, including his time as a prosecutor, attorney general, and governor, DeWine said the data no longer supports that belief.
A key factor, he said, is the amount of time that passes between a death sentence and an execution.
According to DeWine, the last 10 people executed in Ohio spent an average of 21 years on death row. Individual cases ranged from 14 to 32 years between sentencing and execution.
“The truth is that there is no prospect that these long delays will be substantially changed in the future,” DeWine said, noting that Ohio’s timeline is not unusual compared to other states that still allow capital punishment.
The governor also pointed to the number of death sentences that have been overturned over the years. Since 1981, 89 death sentences in Ohio have been removed through judicial action, often due to legal errors such as ineffective counsel or prosecutorial violations.
With decades-long delays and a shrinking number of death sentences being handed down, DeWine said he no longer believes the possibility of execution influences criminal behavior.
“The conclusion I draw from all of this is that it is today impossible to make the case that the death penalty is a deterrent,” he said. “I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent.”
DeWine also focused on the impact of lengthy appeals on victims’ families, saying the uncertainty surrounding whether an execution will ever occur often extends pain rather than providing closure.
“One feeling that seems to be universally held by victims’ families is that the long, long wait to see if the death penalty is carried out is hurtful for these families,” he said.
Ohio has not carried out an execution since 2018.
DeWine has postponed every scheduled execution since taking office in 2019, creating what has effectively become an eight-year moratorium on executions in the state.
More than 100 people currently remain on Ohio’s death row.
“For the state to take a human life, there must be evidence that it will help the public,” DeWine said. “For the reasons stated above, I do not believe that argument can be successfully made.”
DeWine said the Ohio General Assembly should repeal the death penalty. If lawmakers are unwilling to act, he suggested the issue could ultimately be left to Ohio voters.
