Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a quick donation.

We speak with Keith LaMar, an artist, teacher and writer on death row in Ohio. LaMar, who has spent three decades in solitary confinement, was sentenced to death for the murder of five fellow prisoners during a 1993 prison uprising. He has always maintained his innocence. His trial was held in a remote Ohio community before an all-white jury. LaMar is one of three men on death row for whom Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued reprieves, pushing back their execution dates to 2030.

“The reprieve, while good in a legal sense in giving us more time, it also increases the pressure, the harassment that I’m undergoing,” says Keith LaMar. “I’ve been undergoing consistent torture since the last reprieve,” explains LaMar, who received a previous reprieve three years ago.

LaMar’s lawyer Keegan Stephan says there is “incredible new evidence” of his client’s innocence, and Amy Gordiejew, campaign manager of Justice for Keith LaMar, says he “was framed.”

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: “Tell ’Em the Truth,” spoken words by Keith LaMar, music by Albert Marquès. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman in Edinburgh, Scotland, with Nermeen Shaikh in New York.

From Death Row, Keith LaMar Has Built a Movement for Love, Art and Abolition

NERMEEN SHAIKH: On Friday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued reprieves for three men on death row, citing the difficulty of procuring lethal injection drugs from pharmaceutical suppliers. The execution dates of the three men were pushed back to 2030. This comes after Governor DeWine, who is a Republican, announced in June that he no longer believes in the efficacy of the death penalty as a deterrent.

GOV. MIKE DEWINE: It is today impossible to make the case that the death penalty is a deterrent. 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, there must — in my opinion, 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. For the reasons stated above, I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I have cited to support that belief will change. Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.

GOV. MIKE DEWINE: It is today impossible to make the case that the death penalty is a deterrent. 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, there must — in my opinion, 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. For the reasons stated above, I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I have cited to support that belief will change. Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.

AMY GOODMAN: One of the men on Ohio’s death row who received the reprieve from Governor DeWine is Keith LaMar. The new day gives LaMar, his attorneys and supporters more time to fight for his freedom.

LaMar was sentenced to death for the murder of five fellow prisoners during the 1993 Lucasville prison uprising. He and his attorneys say he’s innocent and was wrongfully convicted. His trial was held in a remote Ohio community before an all-white jury. He’s now spent over 30 years in solitary confinement.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: This is an excerpt from the animated short film The Injustice of Justice narrated by Keith LaMar and illustrated by Molly Crabapple, which won the Grand Prize for the Best Animated Short Film at the 2025 Golden State Film Festival.

KEITH LAMAR: I was on the recreation yard when it all began. A guard came running out of the building with blood streaming down his face, followed by a masked prisoner who was carrying a weapon and yelling, “We taking over!” Against my better judgment, I went inside to check on my personal belongings. A fatal mistake. It was complete chaos. When I made it to my assigned location, I discovered that it was being used as a holding area for hostages, both guards and prisoners. I was thereafter approached by a masked prisoner, who gave me the option to either participate or leave. I chose to leave. Hundreds of us gathered on the yard, waiting as the National Guard and Highway Patrol took up watch outside the perimeter fence. … Because I had gone into the hostage area without wearing a mask, my name would be mentioned among the vast array of potential subjects. Even though the state concedes that I was never affiliated with any of the gangs said to have presided over the riot, the fact that I was already serving time for murder would play big part in their decision to indict me. Ultimately, I was charged with nine counts of aggravated murder. I couldn’t believe it.

KEITH LAMAR: I was on the recreation yard when it all began. A guard came running out of the building with blood streaming down his face, followed by a masked prisoner who was carrying a weapon and yelling, “We taking over!” Against my better judgment, I went inside to check on my personal belongings. A fatal mistake. It was complete chaos. When I made it to my assigned location, I discovered that it was........

© Truthout