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July 23, 2017 By OTSE Staff

STATUS REPORT: 56 Task Force Recommendations

From: Ohioans to Stop Executions
Sunday, July 23, 2017

STATUS REPORT: The 56 recommendations of the Supreme Court Joint Task Force on the Administration of Ohio’s Death Penalty as of July 21, 2017

Much is being made of the fact that Ohio plans to resume executions despite the fact that few of the 56 recommendations made in 2014 to improve the fairness and accuracy of Ohio’s death penalty have been implemented, let alone discussed by policy makers. In fact, there has never been a single legislative hearing specifically to discuss the findings of the Task Force as a whole.

Many of the recommendations of the Task Force did not require legislation, but instead were expected to be addressed as rules changes by the Ohio Judicial Conference. As of July 21, 2017, the status of that effort remains unclear.

Several of the recommendations have been addressed by the Ohio General Assembly. However, legislation implementing Task Force recommendations has thus far dealt with closing procedural gaps, bringing uniformity to attorney fees, and initiating a needs study of murder victims’ families (which has simply been window dressing to-date).  Left essentially unaddressed are the much more substantial  recommendations which would really make a difference to increase the fairness and accuracy/reliability of Ohio’s legal system.

 

Ohioans to Stop Executions has compiled a web page featuring the current status of all 56 recommendations as of July 21, 2017. View that here: https://otse.org/56-recommendations/

Regarding the Victims Families recommendation, HB 663 (“Secret Executions Bill ” passed in the lame duck session of 2014) resulted in the appointment of a joint committee of the 2015-16 General Assembly which held a few hearings and produced nothing. See https://archive.otse.org/homicide-survivors-ignored-study-victims-needs/

A national newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, put this all into context in an opinion piece released on Friday, July 21, 2017: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-ohio-death-penalty-kasich-moratorium-20170721-story.html

ALSO, Ohioans to Stop Executions wanted to be sure you have seen the more recent of the steady flow of op-eds featuring unusual voices of experience on the death penalty:

Published Thursday (7/20/17) – Conservative (Kasich supporter) Evangelical Pastor Carl Ruby, on his transition to opposing executions, in the Akron Beacon-Journal: http://www.ohio.com/editorial/pastor-carl-ruby-be-better-ohio-halt-executions-1.781559  [Read a piece more focused on Pastor Carl Ruby’s theological considerations here(published in June).]

Published Friday (7/21/17) – Former Ohio Attorneys General Jim Petro & Lee Fisher in the Plain Dealer: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/07/gov_john_kasich_should_step_in.html

Published Friday (7/21/17) – Linda Collins, wife of deceased Director of the Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Terry Collins, on the toll of executions on corrections workers, via WCPO: http://www.wcpo.com/news/opinion/op-ed-my-husband-supervised-ohio-executions-for-5-years-it-changed-his-life

Published Saturday (7/22/17) – Murder victim family member LaShawn Ajamu, on how executions fail to meet the needs of ALL of Ohio’s murder victim families, in the Toledo Blade: http://www.toledoblade.com/Op-Ed-Columns/2017/07/22/Victims-families-in-Ohio-need-resources-not-executions.html

More is at https://otse.org/news/

SENT BY:

–abe

Abraham J. Bonowitz
Communications, Organizing & Strategy
Ohioans to Stop Executions
abe@otse.org
561-371-5204
@abrahambonowitz

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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).

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