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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
  • Resources
    • Issues
    • Task Force Recommendations
    • Educational Handouts & Articles
    • Clemency Campaigns
    • News
    • Press Releases
    • Publications

OHIOANS TO STOP EXECUTIONS: THE PUSH FOR ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY

Ohio has not carried out an execution in over two years. Throughout this extended and unofficial moratorium, we have found unprecedented bipartisan support in Ohio’s legislature – and among Ohio voters – to repeal Ohio’s death penalty.

House Bill 136, a bill that exempts individuals with serious mental illness from receiving a death sentence, was signed into law by Governor DeWine in January 2021. During the several years it took to get this important piece of legislation passed and signed, conversations were sparked about the many irreparable problems with the death penalty including:

  • Arbitrary application based on geography and race.
  • Massive costs to taxpayers.
  • Lack of deterrence to violent crime.
  • Wrongful convictions happen all the time – in Ohio there are nine death row exonerees who spent a combined 190 years on death row for crimes they did not commit.
  • A growing number of murder victim family members do not believe the death penalty helps them heal.

Along with a legislative change of attitude, public opinion has also shifted significantly.

A poll conducted by the Terrance Group the fall of 2020 found that 59% of Ohioans support replacing the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

In February 2021, two identical death penalty repeal bills, Senate Bill 103 and HouseBill 183, were introduced with bipartisan support. With these bills introduced, the momentum to repeal the death penalty in Ohio is at an all-time high. Join us as we push for Ohio to become the 24th state to put an end to capital punishment.

TAKE ACTION

Our partners at Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) and Witness to Innocence (WTI) have both created action alerts to help you easily send a message to your lawmakers in support of repeal. Click here for EJUSA’s action, and here for WTI’s.

Ohioans to stop executions: partners in the fight

To have your organization listed here, email our Director of Outreach and Community Organizing, Jennifer@otse.org.

State and National Orgs Who Support a Death Penalty Repeal Effort in Ohio

  • ACLU of Ohio
  • ACLU National
  • The 8th Amendment Project
  • Catholic Conference of Ohio
  • Catholic Mobilizing Network
  • Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty
  • Death Penalty Action
  • Equal Justice USA
  • Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center
  • The Ohio Council of Churches
  • The Ohio Transformation Fund
  • The Ohio Justice and Policy Center
  • Reprieve
  • Responsible Business Initiative
  • Witness to Innocence
  • Catholics Against Capital Punishment
  • The Musketeer Association
  • National Congress on Faith & Social Justice
  • Dominican Sisters of Peace
  • Amnesty International
  • National Hispanic Leadership Agenda
  • National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
  • NADP
  • The Central District Conference of Mennonite Church USA
  • League of Women Voters – Ohio
  • People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
  • The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
  • Death Penalty Focus
  • The International Federation of ACATs
  • Soto Zen Buddhist Association
  • International Commission against Execution
  • NAACP
  • Journey of Hope
  • Campaign to End the Death Penalty
  • Penal Reform International
  • Student Abolition
  • American Solidarity Party
  • Episcopal Peace Fellowship
  • The National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition
  • Marianist Social Justice Collaborative

SIGN-ON LETTERS OPPOSING OHIO’S DEATH PENALTY

Sign-on Letter to End Ohio’s Penalty for Murder Victims’ Families

Sign the letter

Sign-on-Letter to Repeal Ohio’s Death Penalty for Faith Leaders

Sign the letter

Sign-on Letter for Law Enforcement Officials

Sign the letter

Sign-on Letter for Ohio Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty

Sign the statement of support
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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).