Gov. Mike DeWine said he opposes the death penalty as it is not a deterrent against violent crimes, but he faces an uphill battle to convince the state Legislature to either abolish it or put it in front of voters to decide its fate.

DeWine, a Republican, said Tuesday: “I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder. The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists. For the state to take a human life, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so, it will help protect the public.”

DeWine said there’s been a dramatic decline in the number of capital punishment convictions over the decades since the death penalty was reinstated in October 1981, thanks to a bill he co-sponsored, and that it took an average of 21 years from conviction for the last 10 people executed in the state to be put to death.

DeWine’s announcement didn’t come as a surprise. DeWine said last December he was rethinking his stance in favor of capital punishment and had said an announcement would come soon.

DeWine kept postponing the announcement, saying May 11 that he had planned to make the long-awaited statement that day, but delayed it to name Andy Wilson as the state’s next attorney general.

DeWine stopped executions in Ohio when he became governor in 2019, after a federal judge ruled on the same day he started his first term that the state’s drug lethal injection was inhumane.

The governor has granted numerous reprieves since then and has said — and repeated Tuesday — that pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t sell other needed, therapeutic drugs to states that use lethal injections.

DeWine, however, didn’t offer reprieves to anyone on death row and declined to say Tuesday if he would do that before his term ends Jan. 11.

DeWine urged the Republican-controlled state Legislature to take action to abolish the death penalty, and if its members don’t want to do that, it should put the issue in front of voters for a decision.

Ohio Speaker of the House Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said Tuesday he has “been clear in my support for maintaining the death penalty in Ohio for the most heinous crimes. While I respect Gov. DeWine’s perspective, I disagree with his conclusion that the General Assembly should eliminate capital punishment altogether.”

Nothing is introduced in the state House without Huffman’s approval.

LOCAL REACTIONS

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, the longest serving county prosecutor in the state and a Democrat, said he disagrees with DeWine.

“You cannot deter anyone if you don’t enforce the law and we haven’t enforced the law since 2018,” Watkins said. “It’s my view that the death penalty, in the most severe cases for the worst of the worst crimes, is the proper punishment. The death penalty ensures the most dangerous offenders don’t reoffend.”

Watkins, a strong supporter of the death penalty, said: “Personal beliefs should be set aside when enforcing any law. The governor is entitled to his opinions. But my staff owes it to the survivors of victims to uphold the law. We need to have that penalty in our arsenal.”

Watkins said other states are carrying out capital punishment and the survivors of murder victims in Ohio deserve justice.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro said: “Prosecutors do not make law, they implement the law. As Mahoning County prosecutor, it is my position that as long as the death penalty is the law in Ohio it should be enforced. The death penalty should be a punishment reserved for the worst of the worst.”

She added: “Since taking office in January 2025, we have not had a murder case with facts that appropriately fit within the aggravating circumstances required to present capital specifications to the grand jury. If such a case arises, we will seek the death penalty as long as it is an available punishment under Ohio law.”

Regarding DeWine’s call for the state Legislature to review capital punishment, state Rep. David Thomas, R-Jefferson, who represents portions of Trumbull County, said: “The speaker was quoted as saying that’s not happening. There’s no real interest in it. It’s not at the top of anyone’s list. It’s not a priority. On the list of the top 10 issues facing constituents, it is not on it. It doesn’t matter to me what we do. We have more important things to get done.”

Thomas added: “I’m more frustrated that we have laws on the books, and the administration is supposed to carry out those laws.”

State Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Canfield, said that while legislative leadership “isn’t receptive to eliminating capital punishment, I’m more open to that than others might be.”

Fischer said he has wrestled with the issue and would like to see debate and discussion on a bill that abolishes the death penalty, reinforces state prohibitions against the use of public funds for abortions and restricts public funding for physician-assisted suicides.

Fischer said: “It’s worth having the discussion at least. The governor raises good points about the lack of deterrents. It’s a difficult issue I’ve grappled with.”

State Rep. Nick Santucci, R-Niles, referred to Huffman’s statement.

Kevin Werner, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions, said DeWine’s “evolution on the death penalty is exactly what we’ve seen in communities across Ohio from MAGA Republicans, Democrats and independents. Nobody supports a system that harms victim families, convicts innocent people and wastes millions of dollars without a shred of improved public safety.”

Joseph Walker Jr,, pastor of Restoration Christian Fellowship in Warren, and president of the Trumbull County Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, said he has mixed feelings when it comes to the death penalty.

“My emotions are mixed on this. While I have mercy for people and do not want to see someone put to death, I think of the victims of these severe crimes and the desire for punishment for those responsible,” Walker said.

He said he does not push for the death penalty, but he wants justice for victims of the crimes and those who committed them held accountable.

However, Walker said everyone is entitled to their views on the issue.

DEATH PENALTY HISTORY

The death penalty was reinstated in Ohio in 1981 after being declared unconstitutional in 1972. But the state did not resume carrying out executions until 1999, with DeWine stopping them in 2019.

During the time when executions occurred, 56 people died by lethal injection in Ohio of the 337 people sentenced to the death penalty.

DeWine said during that time, 41 others died by natural causes or suicides with 89 death sentences removed based on judicial action.

The last 10 executions in the state took 21 years to carry out from the time a person was sentenced to death, DeWine said.

“These long delays have occurred in spite of the best efforts of the law enforcement departments that investigate the cases, the prosecutors who prosecute the cases, and the judges and juries who decide the cases,” DeWine said. “There is no prospect that these long delays will be substantially changed in the future.”