Today's News-Herald of Northern Ohio carries the editorial, "Details needed for death row review."
If one Ohio Supreme Court justice has his way, the line waiting on death row may get a little shorter.
Justice Paul Pfeifer, who played a major role in resurrecting Ohio’s death penalty law nearly 30 years ago, said the state has a backlog of old cases. Many of those would not have resulted in a death sentence had they been tried under current law, which gives juries the option of imposing a life sentence without the possibility of parole, he said.
Ohio has 161 inmates on death row and is on pace to execute a state record 11 inmates this year. Five have already been executed this year, and thus far two are scheduled for 2011.
Pfeifer, a Republican who’s running unopposed for re-election, believes all death row cases should be reviewed to see which ones warrant execution and which ones should be commuted to life in prison without parole.
When he helped resurrect Ohio’s death row law back in 1981 as a state senator, Pfeifer included a life without parole option but the Ohio House refused to go along. The state has since given juries that option.
We’re not opposed to a review of the cases, but before we can give our full stamp of approval, we feel more information is needed.
Earlier coverage of Justice Pfeifer's proposal is here.
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