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  • 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
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News

March 9, 2021

Former governor, attorneys general: Ohio death penalty broken, costly and unjust. It must be repealed.

Forty years ago, several of us supported the crafting of Ohio’s death penalty law, believing it would be a fair and just system. Seeing it in operation has convinced us it is not. We urge the Ohio legislature to repeal what we helped wrought. Read more here.

March 5, 2021

Opinion: Severely mentally ill will not be executed in Ohio, but work remains

Ohio has taken a major step toward recognizing the role of serious mental health impairments in our criminal justice system. People with severe mental illness will no longer be executed by the state, thanks to a bill approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.  I am grateful to those legislators who championed […]

February 19, 2021

Chances for Ohio death penalty repeal appear to be growing

The biggest-ever bipartisan coalition on Thursday announced a renewed effort to repeal the death penalty in Ohio. State Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, hosted a virtual press conference to announce that they and three other Republican and four Democratic senators so far have said they will co-sponsor the repeal legislation. […]

February 19, 2021

Lawmakers announce GOP-supported effort to end death penalty

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Capital punishment would be banned in Ohio under upcoming legislation announced Thursday with both Democratic and Republican support, the latest bipartisan effort to end executions in the state. The backing of some GOP lawmakers to do away with executions in Ohio isn’t new, with numerous abolition bills over the years garnering […]

February 19, 2021

Growing number of Republican lawmakers support ending the death penalty in Ohio

A growing number of Republican Ohio lawmakers are voicing their support for abolishing the death penalty in the state, giving longtime supporters hope changes first proposed a decade ago could finally become law. Read more here.

February 19, 2021

Legislation to end the death penalty in Ohio gains bipartisan support: Capitol Letter

New day for an old proposal: An effort to end the death penalty in Ohio now has support from a group of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who believe they have the votes to make it happen, Jeremy Pelzer reports. But Republican House and Senate leaders would have to let such a bill get to […]

February 19, 2021

Lawmakers Announce Bipartisan Effort To End Death Penalty In Ohio

For the sixth time in a decade, a Democratic state lawmaker has proposed a bill to end the death penalty in Ohio. But this time, the measure has significant Republican support. Read more here.

February 19, 2021

2 Ohio lawmakers introduce bill to end state’s death penalty

State Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) and State Rep. Adam Miller (D-Columbus) introduced a bipartisan bill Thursday that would repeal Ohio’s death penalty, which they called “out of date” and “flawed.” Schmidt said she has reevaluated the issue throughout the course of her life. Once a supporter for continuing the death penalty, Schmidt said more than […]

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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).