Buckeye Reporter

Attorney General Dave Yost has reiterated the need for Ohio's elected leaders to address the state's capital-punishment system, calling it "unworkable." The release of the "2023 Capital Crimes Report" highlights the inefficiencies and delays within the system, with Yost stating, "No criminal penalty – capital or otherwise – should carry an empty promise of justice."

According to the report, since Ohio's death-penalty law was enacted in 1981, 336 people have received a combined 341 death sentences, but only 56 sentences have been carried out. The state's last execution took place over five years ago in July 2018. Currently, there are 119 Death Row inmates with a combined 121 death sentences pending in Ohio.

One of the major contributing factors to the delays in executions is the lengthy appeals process, with condemned inmates spending an average of more than 21 years on Death Row. Additionally, the reluctance of pharmaceutical suppliers to provide lethal-injection drugs has further hindered the process.

In response to the drug supply issue, Yost and two state lawmakers proposed legislation in January to allow the use of nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative method of execution. This proposal came after Alabama executed a murderer using nitrogen gas for the first time.

The report also sheds light on the frustration experienced by families of victims awaiting closure. Kimberly Cook, whose mother and sister were murdered in 1999, expressed her anguish over the lack of justice, stating, "You don’t really know until it happens to you – the severity and the impact – and how much it changes your heart, mind and soul."

Yost emphasized the need for Ohio to find the political will to reform the capital-punishment system, citing the case of Stanley "Ted" Adams, who was sentenced to death in 2001 but has yet to face execution due to drug supply issues. "Ohio’s elected leaders should fix this," Yost urged.

The "2023 Capital Crimes Report" is available on the attorney general's website for further information on the state's capital-punishment system. For media inquiries, contact Dominic Binkley at 614-728-4127.