DeWine Calls for Abolishing Death Penalty He Helped Write

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican Gov. Mike DeWine called on Tuesday for Ohio to abolish the death penalty, a dramatic reversal for the term-limited governor who co-wrote the state’s capital punishment law 45 years ago as a state legislator. Citing data that he said proves the death penalty no longer serves as a deterrent to violent crime, DeWine urged lawmakers to repeal the 1981 statute or put the question to voters.

“I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there is any chance in the future the facts that I have cited to support that belief will change,” the 79-year-old governor said during a news conference in Columbus. “Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.”

A 50-Year Evolution on Capital Punishment

DeWine’s journey on the death penalty spans half a century. As a young county prosecutor, he believed capital punishment served as a deterrent. In 1981, as a state representative, he co-sponsored the law that reinstated Ohio’s death penalty after the U.S. Supreme Court had declared it unconstitutional in 1972. As Ohio attorney general from 2011 to 2019, he ordered the prison system to explore alternative lethal injection drugs.

But as governor, DeWine has overseen a de facto moratorium on executions since taking office in 2019. Ohio has not executed anyone since Robert Van Hook was put to death on July 18, 2018. DeWine has repeatedly postponed scheduled executions, citing pharmaceutical companies’ refusal to supply lethal injection drugs. According to The Associated Press, DeWine said his outright opposition crystallized over the past year.

“The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists,” DeWine said, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch. “For the state to take a human life, there must be evidence that in doing so, it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder.”

The Data Behind the Decision

During his news conference, DeWine brandished charts and graphs showing diminishing death sentences, decades-long legal delays, and the growing likelihood that condemned inmates die of natural causes or suicide before their execution date arrives. Ohio currently has 114 people on death row, according to Newsweek. Since resuming executions in 1999, the state has put 56 inmates to death.

“In summary, each decade that the death penalty has been in effect, the chances of a murderer getting executed get more and more and more remote,” DeWine said.

Opponents of capital punishment have long raised concerns about racial disparities and wrongful convictions. More than half of Ohio’s death row inmates are Black, despite Black people making up only 12% of the state’s population. A report from Ohioans to Stop Executions found that for every five people Ohio executed since 1981, one person was exonerated from death row.

Political Fallout and Legislative Obstacles

DeWine’s announcement places him in direct opposition to the majority of his party’s leadership in Ohio. House Speaker Matt Huffman, a Republican, said in February he would “vigorously oppose” any repeal effort. Huffman has argued that justice delayed is justice denied for victims’ families.

“The governor’s refusal to faithfully execute the laws of the state of Ohio has been ongoing for eight years,” Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said on social media, according to the Columbus Dispatch. “The Legislature is not abolishing the death penalty.”

Despite bipartisan support for repeal bills in the legislature — including Senate Bill 133 — Republican leadership opposition has stalled progress. DeWine acknowledged he has spoken with Huffman and that they remain at odds, saying, “Reasonable people, for centuries, have come down on both sides of this issue.”

The death penalty is also expected to become a major issue in Ohio’s 2026 gubernatorial race. Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy supports the death penalty only in the “most egregious cases” when the outcome is certain, while Democratic nominee Amy Acton has said she would respect Ohio’s moratorium and review the issue.

A Broader Conservative Shift

DeWine’s reversal adds momentum to a growing trend of conservatives questioning capital punishment. Former Republican Gov. Bob Taft, who oversaw 24 executions during his tenure, issued a statement supporting DeWine’s call for repeal. Advocacy groups framed the announcement as part of a broader re-evaluation.

“Governor DeWine is in step with many Republican state office holders across the country who are saying the death penalty does not align with conservative principles of valuing life, protecting innocent people, and being fiscally responsible,” Demetrius Minor, executive director of Conservatives Concerned, told Newsweek.

National support for the death penalty has declined from 80% in 1994 to 52% in 2025, according to Gallup. Several states have abolished capital punishment in recent years, including Virginia (2021), Colorado (2020), and New Hampshire (2019). Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has moved in the opposite direction, ordering the expansion of federal executions.

What’s Next for Ohio

DeWine declined to say whether he will use his clemency powers to commute death row sentences before leaving office in December 2026. Even without legislative action, Ohio’s execution moratorium will likely continue under the next governor unless a new execution method is authorized. A proposal to use nitrogen gas suffered a setback when a federal judge halted Alabama’s nitrogen execution on June 9, ruling it unconstitutionally cruel.

Kevin Werner, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions, said the governor’s evolution reflects a shift happening across the political spectrum. “Nobody supports a system that harms victim families, convicts innocent people and wastes millions of dollars without a shred of improved public safety,” Werner said, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The question now is whether DeWine’s endorsement can break the legislative logjam — or whether Ohio’s death penalty will remain in a state of legal limbo for years to come.