News
Beacon Journal/Ohio.com editorial board: Don’t execute those with serious mental illness
One abiding principle of the justice system goes: The punishment should fit the crime and the defendant. That helps explain the thinking behind reserving the death penalty for the worst of the worst. It also puts in context legislation at the Statehouse that would prohibit the execution of those who are convicted of murder and […]
Editorial: Ohio should do the right thing, not execute those with mental illness
As Ohio takes a break from executions while questions surrounding the lethal drugs used in the process are hashed out, it’s a good time to consider ending execution of people who have serious mental illness. Separate bills to enact such a ban are sitting in committees in the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives. They deserve consideration, and we […]
Beacon Journal/Ohio.com editorial board: Spare those with severe mental illness from execution
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 […]
‘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 […]
Gov. Mike DeWine is plain spoken about gas tax, has death penalty on the agenda: Thomas Suddes
Give Gov. Mike DeWine this: He squelched the near-comeback of George Orwell’s Newspeak at the Statehouse last week. DeWine, a Cedarville Republican, called for an 18-cent increase in Ohio’s gasoline tax, effective July 1. …. Also last week, DeWine, arguably, if indirectly, may have put Ohio’s death penalty on Ohio’s agenda. He said he’ll postpone […]
Gov. Mike DeWine freezes all Ohio executions while new method developed
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday that there will be no more executions in Ohio until a new method of carrying them out can be developed and deemed constitutional by the courts. “As long as the status quo remains, where we don’t have a protocol that has been found to be OK, we […]
Mounting Evidence Shows Torturous Effects of Lethal Injection
AT THE CORONER’S OFFICE in Dayton, Ohio, Dr. Mark Edgar stood over the body of Robert Van Hook. The deceased 58-year-old weighed 228 pounds; he wore blue pants, a white shirt, and identification tags around his ankles. Edgar, a professor of pathology at Emory University School of Medicine, had done countless autopsies over the years. […]