AG Wilson Pushes Back After Gov. DeWine Calls for End to Ohio Death Penalty
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says his office will continue to uphold Ohio’s death penalty law, even after Gov. Mike DeWine publicly announced that he no longer supports capital punishment and believes Ohio should abolish it.
DeWine, speaking Tuesday in Columbus, said his view on the death penalty has changed after 50 years in public life, including time as a county prosecutor, state senator, member of Congress, U.S. senator, Ohio attorney general and governor.
The governor said he once believed capital punishment could deter murder and supported the 1981 law that reinstated Ohio’s death penalty. DeWine said he co-sponsored Senate Bill 1 while serving in the Ohio Senate, voted for the bill, and later defended death penalty laws as Ohio Attorney General.
But DeWine said the death penalty no longer meets the moral justification he once believed supported it.
“I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder,” DeWine said. “The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists.”
DeWine pointed to long delays between sentencing and execution, as well as the declining use of death sentences in Ohio. According to figures cited in his prepared remarks, the last 10 people executed in Ohio waited an average of 21 years between sentencing and execution, with the time ranging from 14 years to 32 years.
DeWine also said that, since Ohio reinstated the death penalty in 1981, 337 people have received death sentences. Of those, 56 have been executed, 41 died of natural causes or suicide while on death row, and 89 had their death sentences removed by judicial action.
The governor said death sentences have steadily declined over the decades. Ohio averaged 14.25 death sentences per year during the 1980s, 13.6 per year in the 1990s, 5.3 per year in the 2000s, and 3.7 per year in the 2010s. In the first six years of the 2020s, DeWine said only two people have been sentenced to death in Ohio.
DeWine said he believes the Ohio Legislature should abolish the death penalty, or allow Ohio voters to decide the issue.
“The Legislature can take this action, and I believe they should take this action,” DeWine said. “But, if the Legislature does not want to make that decision, they can leave it up to a vote of the people of the State of Ohio.”
Attorney General Wilson responded by saying he respects the governor’s opinion, but believes capital punishment remains an important option in limited cases.
“I understand that the Governor issued a statement indicating his opposition to the death penalty,” Wilson said. “The governor is a religious man who cares deeply about the sanctity of life. His opinion reflects his lifetime of working in the criminal justice system and serving the people of Ohio.”
Wilson said Ohioans have differing views on capital punishment, and that prosecutors do not seek the death penalty lightly.
“Having personally handled several death penalty trials, I understand the value of the death penalty as an option for prosecutors and victims in very limited circumstances,” Wilson said. “The decision to seek the death penalty is the most serious decision a prosecutor can make. My experience working with prosecutors across the state is that they do not make this choice lightly.”
Wilson said that, in a small percentage of cases, the death penalty can provide a measure of justice and closure for victims’ families.
“In a small percentage of cases, the death penalty is the only option that can bring a measure of justice and closure to the families of victims who rely on the criminal justice system to help them through the worst moments of their lives,” Wilson said.
DeWine also addressed victims’ families in his remarks, saying each family reacts differently. Some families want to see the convicted killer executed, while others oppose execution for personal or religious reasons. However, DeWine said the long wait for a sentence to be carried out is often painful for families.
“One feeling, however, that seems to be universally held by victims’ families is that the long, long wait to see if the death penalty is carried out is frustrating and very hurtful for these families,” DeWine said.
The governor also spoke about the toll executions take on prison staff and execution teams. He cited former Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Gary Mohr, who supervised 15 executions and described the emotional weight on those involved as “indescribable.”
Wilson said he was relieved DeWine did not use his power of commutation to change existing death sentences.
“I’m relieved that the governor didn’t use the power of commutation to undo the decisions of the prosecutors, juries and judges who are closest to the facts and evidence in these cases,” Wilson said.
For now, the death penalty remains legal in Ohio. Wilson said the Attorney General’s Office will continue working with law enforcement and prosecutors to uphold the law.
“The death penalty is currently allowable under Ohio law, and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office will work with our law enforcement partners and prosecutors’ offices to uphold this law and support the families of victims who have suffered at the hands of society’s most violent offenders,” Wilson said.
