State Senator Edna Brown (D-Toledo) provided the following statement regarding the execution of Ronald Phillips:
“I am appalled by the crimes that Ronald Phillips committed and am deeply sympathetic to the family of the victim. I believe that people should be held accountable for their actions in an appropriate manner.
“Ohio has faced several legal obstacles over the course of more than three years just to obtain proper drugs for executions. There’s a reason why many drug manufacturers will not allow their drugs to be used in this capacity: it’s an outdated and barbaric practice.
“Aside from difficulties in obtaining drugs, the cost of capital punishment in comparison to life imprisonment is vastly more expensive. Ohio’s taxpayers should not be held accountable for a practice that many agree is deeply flawed.
“The continued use of capital punishment is wasteful, arbitrary, and always carries the possibility of execution of an innocent person. It’s time that Ohio invests in an alternative. That is why I have once again introduced legislation (SB 94) that would replace the death penalty with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”