June 16 (UPI) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday called on the Ohio legislature to outlaw the death penalty or for Ohioans to vote on the matter.
DeWine said he doesn’t believe the threat of the death penalty deters criminals and called on the state to abolish the form of punishment.
“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,” he told reporters.
“I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made.”
While DeWine hasn’t been explicitly vocal in his opposition to the death penalty for years, he has delayed executions several times since he assumed office in 2019 amid difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs. The state last carried out an execution in 2018.
“I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder,” he said Tuesday.
“Even if the murderer is caught, indicted, convicted and sentenced to death, the odds are still pretty good they’re not going to be executed,” he said.
House Speaker Matt Huffman, a Republican, said in February that he would “vigorously oppose” any legislation seeking to abolish the death penalty. He also speculated that “probably a lot” of his fellow Republicans in the House would vote similarly.
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