Death Penalty Derailed — By Its Own Author

Office of the Attorney General building sign.

A Republican governor who helped write Ohio’s death-penalty law now wants it scrapped, claiming it does not deter killers and no longer delivers justice.

Story Snapshot

Republican Governor Mike DeWine now says Ohio should abolish the death penalty because it does not deter violent crime.
DeWine argues decades of delays and rare executions mean murderers no longer fear the punishment the law promises.
His reversal matches a national push by activists and faith leaders who want capital punishment ended across the country.
Research on deterrence is mixed, and some studies say executions can still prevent murders when they are certain and swift.

DeWine’s Reversal Puts Ohio’s Death Penalty on the Hot Seat

Republican Governor Mike DeWine told reporters that Ohio’s death penalty “is not a deterrent” and called for lawmakers to abolish it outright, a sharp turn from the tough-on-crime stance he held when he helped write the law 45 years ago.^[5] He said the punishment no longer works as promised and stressed that he sees no future set of facts that would change his mind, declaring that Ohio should end capital punishment once and for all.^[5]

DeWine backed up his shift by pointing to Ohio’s stalled execution system and long delays on death row.^[5] Ohio has not carried out an execution since 2018, yet the state still has dozens scheduled on paper over the next several years.^[5] During the press conference, he used charts and state data to show that death sentences are down, appeals drag on for decades, and many inmates die of natural causes or suicide before the state ever enforces the sentence.^[5]

What DeWine Says the Numbers Show — and What They Do Not

In his remarks, DeWine argued that when the chance of execution becomes “more and more remote” each decade, the death penalty cannot scare would‑be killers.^[5] He cited Ohio figures showing many more people sentenced to death than actually executed, with a growing share removed from death row by courts or by death from other causes.^[5] He claimed this gap destroys the moral case he once made, that the death penalty could save lives by stopping murders before they happen.^[5]

But the governor’s speech did not present a full crime study that links Ohio executions directly to changes in homicide rates.^[5] National research on deterrence is deeply split, and a National Research Council review found past studies “not useful” for deciding whether the death penalty deters murders because they left out key factors that affect crime.^[15] Some economists have even reported that executions can reduce homicides under specific conditions, showing how unsettled the science remains.^[12]

Conservatives Weigh Safety, Justice, and Limited Government

For many conservatives, the core question is not just whether executions scare criminals, but whether the state is carrying out its most serious punishment in a way that is certain, swift, and worthy of the victims. DeWine now says long waits and rare executions fail that test and only stretch out pain for families and staff who serve on execution teams.^[5] He argues that locking violent offenders away for life is a more reliable way to protect the public and avoid a broken process.^[5]

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine wants Ohio to abolish the death penalty, saying it is not a deterrent https://t.co/plawjLtwmS

— David Crary (@CraryAP) June 16, 2026

Opponents of DeWine’s plan point to the other side of the record: studies that claim each execution can prevent several murders and that there is “no conclusive evidence” the death penalty cannot deter crime when carried out with certainty and speed.^[10]^[16] They warn that ending capital punishment could remove an important tool for the worst crimes, and they question whether a system that has been allowed to stall should be scrapped instead of fixed so that justice is faster, fairer, and more consistent.