Five years have passed since a statewide task force recommended improvements in how Ohio conducts the death penalty. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor initiated the effort, and the members performed the job well, generating 56 proposals for the courts and legislature. Unfortunately, a small fraction has been implemented, with state lawmakers proving especially lax in taking […]
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‘Ineffective, irreversible and immoral:’ Gavin Newsom halts death penalty for 737 inmates
Gov. Gavin Newsom put a moratorium on the death penalty in California on Wednesday, sparing the lives of more than 700 death-row inmates. Saying the death penalty is “ineffective, irreversible and immoral,” he signed an executive order granting reprieves to all 737 Californians awaiting executions – a quarter of the country’s death row inmates. Read […]
Column: Pause Ohio’s death penalty to make it more humane, fair
Gov. Mike DeWine made the right decision in halting executions in Ohio until there is in place a lethal-injection protocol that courts find in compliance with constitutional standards. Given U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Merz’s opinion that drugs currently used in executions could cause “senseless pain and needless suffering,” the governor’s action is both human and […]