NEW VOICES: Former Ohio Corrections Director Calls for Ending Death Penalty

Reggie Wilkinson, who wit­nessed 19 exe­cu­tions dur­ing his 33 years with the Ohio Department of Corrections, recent­ly stat­ed that he would like to see exe­cu­tions end­ed in the state. Wilkinson, who served for 15 years as Director of the Department of Corrections and advo­cat­ed for aban­don­ing the state’s elec­tric chair and replac­ing it with lethal injec­tion, not­ed, ​“I would not oppose the abo­li­tion of the death penal­ty. The United States is the only indus­tri­al­ized nation in the world with the death penal­ty — on the books in 38 states.… It’s not so much relat­ed to moral­i­ty as it is relat­ed to the admin­is­tra­tion of jus­tice. To quote an over-used say­ing, ​‘Why should you kill peo­ple who kill peo­ple to show that killing is wrong?’ ” He added that the death penal­ty does not deter mur­ders and it does not save tax­pay­er dol­lars, giv­en the cost­ly super­vi­sion need­ed on death row and the lengthy court appeals. (Dayton Daily News, January 15, 2007). See New Voices. See also Deterrence and Costs.