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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission & History
    • Board & Staff
    • Contact OTSE
  • Take Action
    • Join OTSE
    • Volunteer with OTSE!
    • OHIOANS TO STOP EXECUTIONS: THE PUSH FOR ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY
    • Donate
    • Upcoming Events
    • Open Letter from Ohio’s Faith Leaders
    • Host an Event
    • Mental Illness Reforms
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News

October 25, 2021

Coordinator of Conservative Outreach Job Description

Ohioans to Stop Executions  Coordinator of Conservative Outreach Job Description Job Title:                 Coordinator of Conservative Outreach for Ohioans to Stop Executions. Position Type:        Full-time, part-time flexibility also available. Reports To:             Ohioans to Stop Executions’ Executive Director. Position Description Ohioans […]

July 1, 2021

Letter: Ohio must follow other states’ leads and abolish death penalty

The first death row inmate to be statutorily removed from death row due to severe mental illness at the time of his crime was resentenced to life imprisonment without parole last week. This first exemption is a welcome small step in our movement away from the death penalty, but it is time to abandon the […]

June 17, 2021

Letter to the Editor: Death penalty offers only a false promise of closure and justice

I read Kyle Kirker’s op-ed “Schmidt wrong to put convicts above victims” and as someone who lost a loved one to murder, I can tell you that Mr. Kirker is extremely wrong in his assessment of HB 183 and the abolition of Ohio’s death penalty. I applaud Rep. Jean Schmidt and her efforts to abolish […]

June 16, 2021

Death penalty ban supporters make pitch to Ohio state senators

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Ohio hasn’t carried out an execution since Gov. Mike DeWine took office and there are none on the calendar this year. Still, the death penalty is legal in the state, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers hope there is enough support this year to make Ohio the 24th state to ban […]

June 16, 2021

Bill to abolish death penalty gets 2nd hearing in Ohio Senate committee

Columbus, Ohio (WSYX) — Members of an Ohio Senate committee will hear from supporters of a new bill to abolish the death penalty. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding the second hearing for SB 103 Wednesday, which has bipartisan support with seven Democrats and four Republicans among the sponsors and co-sponsors. Read more here.

June 11, 2021

By ending the death penalty, we can divert resources where they’re really needed

It’s time to end the death penalty in Ohio, and particularly in Cuyahoga County. According to a recent study, Cuyahoga County had the nation’s 133rd highest homicide rate from 1972 to 2019. Yet as noted in the May 5 Plain Dealer, astonishingly, we ranked 12th in the nation in sentencing people to death during that […]

April 2, 2021

Sample phone scripts

Sample phone scripts for calling Senators on Senate Bill 103 “Hi, my name is ___ and I’m a constituent of Senator ___. I’m calling because I’m opposed to the death penalty and I wanted to express my support for Senate Bill 103. Ohio has sent 11 innocent people to death row. For every five people […]

March 18, 2021

Some Ohio Conservatives Want To End The Death Penalty; Others Defend It

A bipartisan bill introduced in the Ohio General Assembly is the latest effort to abolish capital punishment in Ohio. The state’s chapter of a national group called Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty has applauded that legislation, which is sponsored by some staunch conservatives in the Ohio House and Senate. Read and listen here.

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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).