The death penalty is a divisive issue in Ohio. Whether the death penalty will be abolished in Ohio, and what forms it may take if not, remains a tense question reliant on recent and upcoming decisions at the federal and state levels.
Executive order: restoring the death penalty
On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order restoring capital punishment, effective immediately. Trump stresses the historical precedent in the U.S. in favor of the death penalty, stating that the Founding Fathers recognized its role as a means of justice.
“Before, during, and after the founding of the United States, our cities, States, and country have continuously relied upon capital punishment as the ultimate deterrent and only proper punishment for the vilest crimes,” the order reads.
He disparagingly references President Biden’s decision in December 2024 to convert the sentences of 37 federal death row defendants to life in prison: “These efforts to subvert and undermine capital punishment defy the laws of our nation, make a mockery of justice, and insult the victims of these horrible crimes."
The order directs the Attorney General to seek to overrule Supreme Court precedents that limit government authority regarding capital punishment.
It also instructs to ensure that states where the death penalty is legal have a sufficient supply of lethal injection drugs.
According the Associated Press, the order follows a withdrawal by Merrick Garland, former Attorney General, of the Justice Department’s execution protocol permitting lethal injections with pentobarbital.
This was due to a government review which described a potential for “unnecessary pain and suffering.”
State bill: abolishing the death penalty
On Tuesday, Jan. 25, four Ohio lawmakers, two of them from Miami Valley, expressed an intent to introduce bipartisan legislation regarding end-of-life procedures.
Since 2018, Gov. Mike DeWine has put an unofficial ongoing delay on state executions in Ohio, leaving 30 inmates to wait on death row.
“We’ve not had any executions since I’ve been governor. We will not as long as I’m governor,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in an interview with Dayton Daily News. DeWine's time as governor will end in 2027 due to term limits, which leaves uncertainty for those 30 inmates and the future of capital punishment in Ohio.
Only days after Trump’s executive order reaffirming capital punishment, Ohio lawmakers felt the pressure to abolish the practice. The proposed bill would codify an anti-death penalty stance in Ohio, which proponents described as the morally and financially responsible decision.
However, along with the abolition of the death penalty, the bill would also reinforce existing laws preventing physician-assisted suicide and the use of state funds for medical abortion.
Legislators argued that all provisions of the proposed bill aim to reinforce the value of human life.
“...this legislation sends a clear message that Ohio will not fund death,” Rep. Adam Mathews said.
The legislative language reportedly includes a non-severability clause, so parts of the proposal cannot be challenged or paused individually.
“We cannot and we will not separate these issues because they are united by that single truth, that the state should not put its thumb on the scale by using taxpayer dollars to subsidize death,” Mathews said.
Ohio lawmakers are divided over the issue of abolishing capital punishment, as well as authorizing the use of nitrogen hypoxia in executions.
According to Dayton Daily News, this method of suffocation “in instances where lethal injection drugs can’t be obtained” is backed by Rep. Phil Plummer and Dave Yost, current Attorney General of Ohio, who launched his campaign for governor in January.
The bill is also backed by the Catholic Conference of Ohio; However, pro-choice advocates in Ohio are speaking out against the bill.
Kellie Copeland, executive director of Abortion Forward, called the non-severability cluse "dishonest trickery”.
Lauren Blauvelt, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, also came out against the grouping of issues.
“The sad reality is that what should have been a focused effort to end the death penalty in Ohio devolved into yet another anti-abortion spectacle,” Blauvelt told Dayton Daily News.
The legislation has yet to be introduced in the House or Senate.
