COLUMBUS, Ohio — The death penalty could restart in 2027, depending on which candidate wins the Ohio governor's race.
Ohio has not executed a death row inmate while Governor Mike DeWine has been in charge. That wouldn't change under Democrat Dr. Amy Acton.
"There are many, many problems with our death penalty, not the least of which we just saw in Tennessee," Acton said Thursday.
In the wake of the botched injection in Tennessee, where an inmate survived after receiving two supposedly lethal doses, Acton said she wouldn't let them happen again.
"I will be continuing the moratorium," Acton said during a Columbus campaign event Thursday.
She referenced DeWine's summer address, in which he laid out the reasons the death penalty doesn't work.
"I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder," DeWine said in June. "The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists."
In 1981, DeWine was the architect of the current capital punishment law in the state. Now, he said it is a broken system, one that costs the state hundreds of millions despite not having executed anyone since 2018. He adds that the punishment draws out the legal process for victims' families. Plus, there have been a dozen death row exonerees.
"Our money and our energies are much better spent focusing on keeping these repeat violent offenders out of society than focusing on the death penalty," DeWine said.
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Libertarian Don Kissick and running mate James Mills are also opposed to the death penalty.
"I oppose the death penalty because I don’t believe an imperfect government should have the power to make an irreversible decision about someone’s life," Mills said Friday. "We can hold people accountable for horrific crimes without giving the state the authority to execute them."
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy understands all of the arguments against it, but said capital punishment is still necessary.
"I do intend to resume executions in Ohio in the rare cases for the most egregious of crimes where every element of the facts, the law, and even the backdrop and scale of consequence have been fully established," Ramaswamy said Wednesday at the Columbus Metropolitan Club.
He also refused to repeat what happened in Tennessee, and said he would be open to using other methods of execution.
"We will see to it that the methods we are using are the ethically appropriate, scientifically sound, effective and swift methods to ensure that it is done in a manner that respects dignity and life of every person in the state as we carry out those punishments," he said.
Ramaswamy said he is the law-and-order candidate, but Acton emphasizes that she still wants full justice for victims.
"I believe there are heinous crimes out there, and I really feel for families, and that's why I believe in putting people in prison for life without the opportunity of parole," Acton said.
DeWine has asked the lawmakers to completely ban the death penalty so it won't be up to the governor, but House Republican leadership has said no.
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