"Bill proposes ending Ohio's death penalty," is the title of Alan Johnson's report in the Columbus Dispatch.
As Ohio heads toward a possible record number of executions this year, two lawmakers have introduced legislation to abolish the state's death penalty.
The "Execute Justice Bill" is sponsored by Democratic state Reps. Ted Celeste of Grandview Heights and Nickie Antonio of Lakewood.
"The costs associated with litigation and multiple appeals for Death Row inmates can run tens of millions of dollars a year," Celeste said in a statement. "This should be a part of the overall budget conversation as it has the potential to provide major financial savings at a time when we are facing an enormous deficit."
Sixteen states have banned capital punishment.
Ohio has bucked the trend, putting eight men to death last year, placing the state second to Texas in the number of executions in 2010. Ohio was the only state to increase executions from 2009 to 2010.
Two convicted killers have died by lethal injection already this year. Executions are scheduled monthly through November.
Marc Kovac writes, "Democrats to propose abolishing Ohio death penalty," for the Ravenna Record-Courier.
Democrats in the Ohio House plan to introduce legislation abolishing the death penalty in the state.
Democratic state Reps. Ted Celeste, from the Columbus area, and Nickie Antonio, from Lakewood, hope replace capital punishment with sentences of life in prison without parole — a move they say will reduce state spending while ensuring the innocent don’t face lethal injections for crimes they did not commit.
“We are herewith recommending the execution of justice, not people,” Celeste said. “No matter what we do, we cannot ease the pain of family members who lose someone to terrible violence. However, by eliminating the long process of appeals and the unknown, by having the penalty clear and specific (and) sentencing at trial, the process does not drag out for years.”
Antonio added, “In a civilized society, we should not support the killing of an individual by judge or jury and certainly not the state of Ohio executing her citizens. Now is the time for the state of Ohio to take the compassionate, pragmatic and economically proven step to abolish capital punishment.”
Celeste and Antonio announced the legislation during a press conference at the Statehouse Monday, where they were joined by two men who were exonerated of crimes that landed them on Death Row, plus a representative of the Catholic Commission of Ohio, which is supporting the legislation.
The state last week executed its 43rd death row inmate since restarting the capital punishment more than a decade ago. And the Ohio Supreme Court has scheduled 10 executions over the next 11 months.
Reuters reports, "Ohio lawmakers seek death penalty ban as fiscal fix." It's via CNBC.
Ohio has never studied how much it spends fighting the lengthy appeals process that invariably follows the imposition of the death penalty.
But death penalty opponents such as Kevin Werner of Ohioans to Stop Execution say studies done by other states suggest prisoners sentenced to death cost millions of dollars more than prisoners who are sentenced to life in prison.
Celeste said passage would be "an uphill process. ... People don't want to be viewed as soft on crime," he said.
Earlier coverage from Ohio includes the state's latest execution using a single dose of pentobarbital.
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