Entries tagged with “Dave Yost”
Methods of Execution
,Apr 09, 2026
Two Reports from Ohio Draw Starkly Different Conclusions about the Future of the State’s Death Penalty System
Ohio’s capital punishment system has come into sharp focus with the release of two reports that examine four decades of the state’s death penalty record and draw starkly different conclusions about the future of Ohio’s death penalty. On March 30, Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE) published Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Confronting the Wrongful Conviction Crisis in the State of Ohio, documenting the record of mistakes and errors that resulted in 12 exonerations. “The death penalty in Ohio is a system…
Issues
Time on Death Row
,Apr 08, 2024
Ohio’s Attorney General’s Report Describes Death Penalty as “Enormously Expensive” and “Broken” in 2023 Capital Crimes Report
“At a time when faith in society’s institutions is at an all-time low, the failure of the capital-punishment system could be Exhibit A,” concludes the annual Capital Crimes Report issued by by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. The Report highlights numerous problems with its “broken” capital punishment system, including the “enormously expensive” cost. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission has estimated that the cost of capital cases range from $1 to $3 million per case based on a collection…
Research
Methods of Execution
,Feb 02, 2024
Ohio Officials Divided on Death Penalty as Attorney General Pushes New Bill to Legalize Nitrogen Hypoxia for Executions
On Tuesday, January 30, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced new legislation to authorize the use of nitrogen gas in executions in the state. Joined by several Republican state representatives and Louis Tobin of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, AG Yost said that he is seeking to “kickstart” Ohio’s death penalty after a six-year pause in executions due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs. “The status quo is unacceptable,” he said. According to the text of the…
Research
New Voices
,Dec 13, 2023
After Five-Year Execution Pause, Ohio Leaders Question Value of Death Penalty
A proposed death penalty repeal bill in the Ohio legislature is drawing attention to the state’s five-year pause on executions, and leading state officials from both parties to question whether the death penalty system is working. Ohio Attorney General David Yost (pictured) summed up the situation by saying, “This system satisfies nobody. Those who oppose the death penalty want it abolished altogether, not ticking away like a time bomb that might or might not explode. Those who support the…
Research
Sep 12, 2023
Ohio General Assembly Resumes Bipartisan Efforts to Abolish the Death Penalty
On September 6, 2023, a bipartisan group of Ohio state representatives reintroduced a bill that would abolish the death penalty and replace the punishment with life in prison without parole. Legislators in Ohio have debated the use of capital punishment for nearly a decade, but this renewed effort comes after state senators introduced Senate Bill 101 earlier in the year, which would also abolish the use of capital punishment. Among the primary sponsors of these bills is Representative Jean…
Issues
Jul 18, 2023
Ohio Joins Fifteen Other States Without an Execution in 5 Years
Today marks the five-year anniversary of Ohio’s last execution, which took place on July 18, 2018. Ohio now joins 15 other states without an execution in the past five years. Although there is no formal moratorium, Governor Mike DeWine has issued several reprieves due to concerns about the lethal injection protocol and the difficulty the state has had obtaining lethal injection drugs. Ohio has executed 56 people in the modern death penalty era, placing it 8th overall in the number of executions…
Research
New Voices
,Apr 26, 2023
EDITORIALS: Cleveland Plain Dealer Endorses Death Penalty Abolition Bill
The board of Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer published an editorial supporting the passage of Senate Bill 101 that would abolish the death penalty in Ohio. “[T]he time is right,” states the piece, “for the General Assembly to come together to end capital punishment in Ohio. Its inequities are manifest, its barbarism is clear — and its time has passed.” According to the editorial, Senate Bill 101 currently has bipartisan support among “more than a third of the state Senate. …[and] runs the…
Issues
Time on Death Row
,Apr 17, 2023
Ohio’s 2022 Capital Crimes Report Calls State Death Penalty a ‘Broken System’
On March 31, 2023, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released the state’s annual Capital Crimes report for 2022. According to the report, the average time prisoners spend on the state’s death row before an execution date is set is nearly 21 years – a number that has consistently increased with each annual report. Even when an execution date is set, a prisoner “is more likely to die of suicide or natural causes than as a result of execution,” due to the ongoing difficulty in obtaining lethal…