The July 26 execution of Akron child killer Ronald Phillips was the first to take place in the state in more than three years. Prior to his execution, American Bar Association President Linda A. Klein issued a statement urging Gov. John Kasich to delay resuming executions until all the reforms recommended in the ABA’s 2007 Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report had been implemented.
Cincinnati-area killer set to be executed in October loses appeal
A panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Raymond Tibbetts’s petition to challenge his convictions was barred because it is considered “second or successive.” Such petitions are not allowed except under limited circumstances, and the panel’s majority ruled that Tibbetts did not overcome that threshold.
Op-ed: Executions in Ohio should be abolished
Two WCPO.com readers responded to an op-ed on the death penalty in Ohio by sharing their opinions. The original column was written by Linda Collins, the widow of Terry Collins, who was director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and oversaw executions, from 2006 to 2010.