Time is running out for Gov. DeWine to take a side on the death penalty

Ohio is one of America’s most important death penalty “swing states.” Although the ultimate punishment is legal there, no one has been executed in the state since 2018, when Robert Van Hook was put to death.    

Soon after he took office in 2019, Gov. Mike DeWine imposed a kind of informal moratorium on executions in the Buckeye State. But Ohio’s thoughtful and respected chief executive has yet to say what he thinks about whether the state should abolish capital punishment, or whether he will commute the sentences of the 113 people on Ohio’s death row before he leaves office next January.

Ohio has the sixth-most-populated death row in the country. And that is why Dewine’s decision will be so important. 

The recent release of two reports — one from Ohioans to Stop Executions, the other from the state’s pro-death penalty attorney general, Dave Yost — has teed up the debate. Ohio citizens would benefit greatly from the governor’s leadership, and his views would play an important role in the wider national conversation.    

In December 2024, DeWine told a group of reporters who cover the statehouse, “We’ve not had any executions since I’ve been governor. We will not as long as I’m governor.” During his time in office, he has issued more than 40 reprieves. In January, he added three more to the list, pushing back executions to 2029.

In his 2024 press conference, Dewine went on to promise that “In the next few months, I’ll have more to say about it.” Last December, he renewed that pledge. The people........

© The Hill