YourVoice: Should Ohio abolish the death penalty?

The death penalty is still legal in over half of the United States, including Ohio. Yet many Ohio residents are unaware of this.

The last execution in Ohio took place in 2018, but since assuming office in 2019 Gov. Mike DeWine has postponed every execution that was scheduled. He has also urged Ohio lawmakers to officially abolish the death penalty before the next governor assumes office, making it clear that he now believes capital punishment should be discontinued.

It’s a sensitive issue, and people hold many differing perspectives on it. Sinclair students are no exception, and some agreed to share their opinion on the matter.

One thing that all interviewees shared in common was surprise about the status of the death penalty, as they were unaware that it is still legal in Ohio despite the governor’s deferment.

Where they differed was in their exact views. Some, like Corine Pierre, have said that they don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with capital punishment, since certain crimes are severe enough that the punishment should fit the crime.

**Corine Pierre, a Sinclair student.** ERIK LARSON

“Definitely certain crimes, not like burglary or something,” Pierre said.

Pierre also said that the process should be rigorous and not go straight from sentencing to execution. Pierre said that falsely charging someone and executing someone innocent would be bad, but as long as there are safeguards in place capital punishment should remain.

“I think it should continue, but [it should be] in a sense of, make sure that you have the right person versus ‘Oh, we just charged this person, and years later we found out it’s not that person,’” Pierre said.

One student, who wanted to remain anonymous, was less certain about the merits of continuing capital punishment.

“I think there’s always a chance for reform, especially if they’ve been given a proper psych evaluation,” they said. “And based on the evaluation, if they are going to continue [committing crimes] and there’s no sort of improvement for that, then… maybe that’s the only situation.”

They noted that the death penalty can be used to remove people who have done harm from society. They also stated that they aren’t sure if keeping people in prison for life is the best alternative. They said that there were some situations where capital punishment may be warranted or necessary, but even in those cases they “still wouldn’t agree with it.”

**Cole Stockwell, a Sinclair student.** ERIK LARSON

Another student, Cole Stockwell, was more firm about their position.

“[It] probably should be abolished. It’s just easy to either abuse or misuse,” Stockwell said.

Stockwell stated that it isn’t that the death penalty wouldn’t be the best option for some cases, but that courts can and do make mistakes. He noted that if someone is sentenced to life in prison but they were wrongfully convicted, there are years to figure things out, and they could be released and compensated. But with capital punishment mistakes can’t be fixed after the fact, and he said the permanence was a big reason why he’s against it.

“That’s a particularly permanent thing,” Stockwell said. “It’s like cutting off someone’s hand as a form of punishment, except instead of their hand, that’s their entire life. You can’t put the hand back on years later.”

At the time of writing, the U.S. is one of 53 countries that still has the death penalty.

In the U.S. there are 23 states that have formally repealed the death penalty. The remaining 27 states still have the death penalty, however only 16 states have had executions in the past 10 years.

Four states have the death penalty but have not had any executions in 10 years or more, six states have the death penalty but have formally suspended all executions, and Ohio is unique as it is the only state that has the death penalty but has informally suspended all executions.

Erik Larson, reporter

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