COLUMBUS — Former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland said Wednesday he has “regrets” over those who went to Ohio's lethal injection gurney on his four-year watch.
He pointed to his friend, current Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who announced upon taking office that no one would be executed while he was governor and then helped to convince lawmakers to repeal the death penalty there in 2018.
A bill to do the same is awaiting the governor's signature in Colorado.
“I wish I had taken such a position when I became governor,” Mr. Strickland said. He stood next to opponents of the death penalty who see an opening to doing the same now in Ohio that they haven't seen before.
“I think the death penalty is administered in an unfair manner,” he said. “It depends on what zip code you live in, whether or not you're more likely to be charged with a capital crime. The thing that concerns me the most about the death penalty is that the system of justice is not perfect, and death is final. You can't correct a mistake when the life has been taken.”
After a year and a half without an execution and a broadening of its coalition to include conservatives, state Sen. Nickie Antonio (D., Lakewood) said she's convinced now is the time to make an all-out push to abolish the death penalty in Ohio.
In the past, Democratic opponents of the death penalty have measured incremental legislative success in the small number of Republicans they've gotten to sign on to their abolition bills. On Wednesday, that progress was measured by the support of conservative state Sen. Kristina Roegner (R., Hudson).
“I am definitely out of my comfort zone on this,” she said, noting that her “heart” has changed on the subject.
“I believe life begins at conception to natural death,” Ms. Roegner said. “I don't think it would be intellectually honest of me not to be here... There is life. There's a beating heart. There's a human... Certainly, they should be punished.”
State Sen. Peggy Lehner (R., Kettering), another prominent pro-life voice in the General Assembly, will co-sponsor the abolition bill with Ms. Antonio.
Mr. Strickland has joined a growing number of current and former Ohio leaders who've changed their position on the death penalty, including former Gov. Bob Taft and former Attorney General Jim Petro, both Republicans. As with Mr. Strickland, however, the change of position occurred after they'd left office.
House Speaker Larry Householder (R., Glenford) has openly discussed the option of repealing the death penalty, citing the state's inability to legally acquire the drugs it prefers to use from manufacturers who object to their use for executions. He's also pointed to the high costs associated with court appeals.
But Senate President Larry Obhof (R., Medina) has said he does not believe there is support in his chamber to abolish the death penalty this session.
While prosecutors say they are open to improvements in the process, they object to taking the death penalty off the table as an option. Some lawmakers have also suggested adopting a new method of putting people to death in Ohio that would avoid the drug hurdles the state now faces.
Joining Ms. Antonio were some of the usual players in the anti-death penalty movement — the Ohio Catholic Conference, Ohio Council of Churches, and Ohioans to Stop Executions. But opposition to the death penalty has grown in recent weeks to include conservative individuals and organizations.
While no one has been put to death since he took office in 2019, current Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday declined to say whether he would support such a bill. As a Republican former attorney general, he led an office that succeeded in putting some executions back on track after they’d been stayed by the courts.
'I think this is certainly a proper thing for Ohioans to weigh in on,” he said. “If Ohioans have an opinion, they should be writing their legislators.”
First Published March 4, 2020, 9:01 p.m.
