Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine speaks at a news conference on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo)

COLUMBUS – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday he wants to abolish the death penalty in Ohio. His announcement included a nine-page document with his personal accounts on the subject as well as statistics and detailed examples to support his conclusion.

His document included his experience with capital punishment as a former county prosecuting attorney, a member of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate and House of Representatives, a member of the Judiciary Committee in the U.S. Senate, Ohio Attorney General and as governor.

“When I voted for the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1981, I believed that in some cases, capital punishment could serve as a deterrent to keep some people from killing,” said DeWine.

DeWine voted in favor of the death penalty bill, which took effect Oct. 19, 1981. As Ohio Attorney General he would work on death penalty litigations.

“Of the 337 individuals who received a death sentence since 1981, 56 have been executed,” read the document. “Excluding the last seven-plus years, we now have four decades of experience with the death penalty in Ohio.”

Based on his findings, he determined the death penalty wasn’t a deterrent as he initially thought.

Depicted in the chart in his written remarks, Ohio deaths as a result of the death penalty have steadily gone down since 1982. In the past six years, there have been two people sentenced to death. In the 1990s the average was 13.6 deaths annually.

“The conclusion I draw from all of this is that it is today impossible to make the case that the death penalty is a deterrent,” read DeWine’s statement. “The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists.”

The document also discussed the impact the death penalty could have on the victims’ families as well as on those who carry out the execution.

“Any decision to officially end the death penalty in Ohio cannot change the horror and the anger we feel in regard to these murderers nor the deep sorrow we feel for the victims and for their families,” read DeWine’s statement.

Rep. Kevin Ritter, R-Marietta, said he respects DeWine’s position on the death penalty and any changes would require legislative action.

“For direction on important issues like the death penalty, I look to authorities like St. Augustine who believed the state could execute criminals and remain true to Justice and to St. Thomas Aquinas who taught that dangerous criminals could be executed to protect society,” said Ritter. “Recent theologians have taken a narrower view but my view is closest to those.”

Ritter said there are a “limited number of voting sessions for the legislature” this year, which could present a challenge to abolish the death penalty.

Wenda Sheard (D-Athens) is running for the Ohio House District 94 against Ritter for the upcoming election.

Sheard said she is also against the death penalty and has spoken against it in the past.

“My first husband was murdered in 1978 … we were married for three years .. I never ever felt that anyone should be killed as a result of a crime,” said Sheard.

She said she worked in the court system for many years and knows that the cost of the death penalty was more than keeping the individual in prison.

“And mistakes always happen,” she said.

She said during the trial for her late husband’s case, she met the wife of the man who killed her husband and she realized the death penalty, if it had been an option, wouldn’t have resolved what happened.

“We said to each other, let’s pray for the best,” said Sheard.

DeWine said in his statement the money and energy directed toward the death penalty should be put toward “keeping these repeat violent offenders out of society.”

DeWine said he recommended the legislature take action to abolish the death penalty and if they don’t take action then the decision can be made by the people of Ohio.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com