---
title: 'NEW VOICES: Former Ohio Attorney General Now Says Society Better Off Without Death Penalty'
description: 'Jim Petro (pictured), former Attorney General of Ohio, strongly supported the death penalty as a state legislator, believed the state would save money…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-voices-former-ohio-attorney-general-now-says-society-better-off-without-death-penalty'
section: news
date: '2012-01-24T18:59:39-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:31:32-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

! **Jim Petro** (pictured), former **Attorney General of Ohio,** strongly supported the death penalty as a state legislator, believed the state would save money because of the death penalty, and that it would act as a deterrent. But, he recently said, "Neither of those things have occurred, so I ask myself, 'Why would I vote for it again?' I don't think I would. I don't think the law has done anything to benefit society and us. It's cheaper and, in my view, sometimes a mistake can be made, so perhaps we are better off with life without parole." He added, "We are probably safer, better and smarter to not have a death penalty." Many of Petro's concerns are in his book, ***False Justice: Eight Myths that Convict the Innocent***, in which he underscores the risks of mistake and identifies flaws in how police and prosecutors have handled capital cases. He also noted that many prosecutors recognize these problems: "I would bet certainly well over half the prosecutors in the country looking at this book would ultimately agree with most of the issues," he said.

**Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer**, who also helped write the state's death penalty law, has likewise changed his views and urged its repeal. Justice Pfeifer, a Republican, recently told the state House of Representatives, "The death sentence makes no sense to me at this point when you can have life without possibility of parole. I don't see what society gains from that."

(M. Naymik, "[Jim Petro questions about the death penalty stop short of calling for repeal](https://www.cleveland.com/naymik/2012/01/jim_petro_questions_about_deat.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=feed)," Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 22, 2012). See **[Innocence](/innocence-and-death-penalty?did=412&scid=6), [Life Without Parole](/life-without-parole?did=555&scid=59)** and **[New Voices](/new-voices?did=482&scid=16)**. The latest person in the country to be exonerated and freed from death row was from Ohio. [**Joe D'Ambrosio**](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-ohios-substantial-inequitable-conduct-leads-to-nations-140th-death-row-exoneration) was exonerated in 2012 after his 1989 conviction was overturned because prosecutors withheld crucial evidence from the defense. Six former death row inmates from Ohio have been exonerated since 1973.