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February 9, 2014 By OTSE Staff

Dennis McGuire Execution Another Sign of a Broken System

There is no question that the death penalty is a broken system. The problems with Ohio’s death penalty aren’t abstract problems in a report– they are embodied in the prison staff who carried out the suffocation execution of Dennis McGuire, the priest who witnessed it, the family who must endure another media storm. They are problems that can no longer be tolerated.

These problems are inherent to the death penalty and can not be fixed. OTSE knows that ultimately repeal is the only answer.

Until that day, Ohioans to Stop Executions asks you to send a letter to Governor Kasich– ask him to issue an immediate moratorium. How can we continue executions at the current pace when so many questions have gone unanswered since January 16?

Many of our partner organizations have joined us in the call for moratorium.
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  • Read the press release and blog post on behalf of the ACLU of Ohio.
  • Read Abe Bonowitz’s blog post, “Anyone Who Witnessed That Execution Will Never Forget”, on our partner Amnesty International USA’s Human Rights Now Blog
  • Father Lawrence Hummer ministers to the Catholic inmates on Ohio’s death row and witnessed the execution of Dennis McGuire. Read the full account here.
  • Read “Dennis McGuire’s slow, gasping execution is yet another reason for abolishing the death penalty: editorial” The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sunday, January 19, 2014
  • Read “Ohio’s justice should be more civilized: letter to the editor” The Columbus Dispatch, Sunday, January 19, 2014
  • Watch/Listen to The Sound of Ideas: “Cruel and Unusual?”
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Below – Watch WOSU’s All Sides with Ann Fisher: The Future of the Death Penalty:

Read the press release from our partners at Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation calling for Moratorium in Ohio.

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RECOMMENDATION 52

Adoption of a rule directing that the trial judge is the appropriate authority for the appointment of experts for indigent defendants. The rule should further provide that the decision pertaining to the appointment of experts shall be made, on the record, at one of the prescribed Pre-Trial Conferences.

If defense counsel requests, the demand for appointment of the expert shall be made in-camera ex parte, and the order concerning the appointment shall be under seal.

Upon establishing counsels’ respective compliance with discovery obligations, the question of the appointment of experts (including determination of projected expert fees based upon analysis of expert’s time to be applied to the case as well as consideration of incremental payment of expert fees as case progresses) would be decided by the court, which decision would be subject to immediate appeal, under seal, to the appropriate Court of Appeals. The trial court judge shall make written findings as to the basis for any denial. Although concerns have been raised as to the ability of the Appellate Court to provide the anticipated, necessary expedited hearing within a reasonable time-frame, the Joint Task Force suggests that this issue be elevated to the status of a final appealable order and that the necessary expedited appellate process be spelled out in the statute.

RECOMMENDATION 54

Should the present process of appointment of indigent counsel by the judiciary continue, the main objective should always be to assure the best educationally experienced and qualified candidate, who is available (within the county or outside the county), and who is otherwise willing to take on the responsibilities associated with the case for an appropriate fee and accompanying expenses, is appointed. A uniform fee schedule for such services across the State of Ohio must be a necessary consideration to assure the equal protection and due process for the accused in a capital case.

RECOMMENDATION 55

Adoption of reporting standards to provide complete transparency of record, including requirements to ensure better record keeping by the trial judge and the provision of additional, detailed resource information necessary to assure strict compliance with due process, which information shall be submitted to the Supreme Court upon completion of the case. Such resource information may include unique Constitutional issues, unique evidentiary issues, significant motions, plea rationale, pre-sentence investigation, and any additional information required by the Rule 20 Committee or the Supreme Court of Ohio. Additional types of resource information could be developed as part of the mandated educational process conducted by the Ohio Judicial College.

RECOMMENDATION 56

The Joint Task Force believes that some of the recommendations above could be accomplished by the adoption of a separate Criminal Rule for Capital Cases. The Joint Task Force recommends that such a rule be adopted and provide for the mandatory training of attorneys and judges (Recommendation 49), the selection and appointment of indigent counsel in capital cases (Recommendation 51), and the enforcement of the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases and the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams (Recommendations 11 and 12).

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