{"id":2614684,"date":"2026-06-16T14:43:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-dewine-calls-for-abolishing-the-death-penalty\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T14:47:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:47:48","slug":"mike-dewine-calls-for-abolishing-the-death-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-dewine-calls-for-abolishing-the-death-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike DeWine calls for abolishing the death penalty"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmike-dewine-calls-for-abolishing-the-death-penalty%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2614684&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio has announced his support for abolishing the death penalty in the state, marking a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-shows-growing-democratic-opposition-to-cheap-labor-migration\/\" title=\"Poll Shows Growing Democratic Opposition to Cheap Labor Migration\">significant shift<\/a> from his previous stance. He stated that he no longer believes the moral justification for capital punishment exists and cited the lengthy delays, low execution rates, and emotional toll as reasons for his position. DeWine, who co-authored Ohio\u2019s 1981 law authorizing the death penalty, explained that the system&#8217;s delays-averaging over 22 years on death row-undermine its purpose and cause suffering for victims\u2019 families and state workers.sence 2018, Ohio has not executed anyone due to logistical and legal challenges, including difficulties sourcing execution drugs. Politically, his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-bets-on-work-requirements-hoping-to-repeat-clinton-era-successes\/\" title=\"House GOP bets on work requirements, hoping to repeat Clinton-era successes\">proposal faces opposition<\/a> from Republican leaders like House Speaker Matt Huffman and current support remains uncertain.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-dewine\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1201\">Mike DeWine <\/a>(R-OH) called Tuesday for abolishing the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/death-penalty\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1427\">death penalty<\/a> in the Buckeye State, abandoning a position he held for decades and distancing himself from a law he helped write more than 40 years ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe moral justification I had no longer exists,\u201d DeWine told reporters during a Tuesday news conference with less than a year remaining in his final term. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4610661\/doj-investigation-about-sending-message-gavin-newsom\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Newsom camp says investigation is not about finding a crime, but sending a message<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4610409\/atlanta-judge-eleanor-ross-recusal-doj-voter-roll-lawsuit-georgia\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Atlanta judge recuses herself from DOJ voter roll lawsuit in Georgia<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4609907\/blanche-grassley-attorney-general-confirmation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Blanche meets with Grassley as he looks to secure attorney general confirmation<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe there\u2019s any chance in the future the facts that I\u2019ve cited to support that belief will change,\u201d the 79-year-old governor said. \u201cTherefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DeWine co-authored Ohio\u2019s 1981 capital punishment law after the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"203\">Supreme Court<\/a> struck down existing death penalty statutes nationwide in 1972.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent for murder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The governor pointed to statistics showing how rarely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-set-to-be-first-southern-state-to-abolish-death-penalty\/\" title=\"Virginia Set To Be First Southern ... To Abolish ...\">death sentences<\/a> are carried out in practice. Of the 337 people sentenced to death in Ohio since 1981, 56 have been executed by lethal injection, while 41 died of natural causes or suicide while awaiting execution.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ohio resumed imposing death sentences under the 1981 law, but executions did not restart until 1999.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The average wait time on death row now exceeds 22 years, according to then-Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost\u2019s 2025 capital punishment report. The report found that inmates are increasingly dying of natural causes or suicide before their sentences can be carried out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DeWine argued that the system\u2019s lengthy delays undermine its purpose while prolonging suffering for victims\u2019 families and placing emotional strain on state employees involved in executions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ohio has not conducted an execution since July 18, 2018, when Robert Van Hook was put to death for the 1985 murder of a man he met at a Cincinnati bar. Since taking office in 2019, DeWine has repeatedly postponed scheduled executions, citing pharmaceutical manufacturers\u2019 refusal to supply drugs used in lethal injections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2020, DeWine acknowledged that lawmakers would likely need to adopt a different execution method before Ohio could resume carrying out death sentences. Despite efforts by state officials to secure execution drugs, the unofficial moratorium has remained in place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4604445\/republicans-midterm-convention-trump\/\">REPUBLICANS BUILD MIDTERM CONVENTION AROUND TRUMP TO BOLSTER TURNOUT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The governor\u2019s call to abolish the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >death penalty faces significant political obstacles<\/a> and will likely not materialize into legislation. State Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman said earlier this year that he would \u201cvigorously oppose\u201d any effort to repeal capital punishment. Yost, a supporter of the death penalty, publicly agreed with Huffman\u2019s position.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It remains unclear whether Interim Attorney General Andy Wilson, who was appointed last month to complete Yost\u2019s term, will support DeWine\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DeWine calls to end Ohio&#8217;s death penalty after decades<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4195,"featured_media":2614685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26167495003648.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[55928,36352,33571,48696],"class_list":["post-2614684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-abolition","tag-criminal-justice-reform","tag-death-penalty","tag-mike-dewine"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26167495003648.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2614684"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2614688,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614684\/revisions\/2614688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2614685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2614684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2614684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2614684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}