Death penalty champion shocks supporters with abolition push

• Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has publicly called for the abolition of the death penalty in the state, marking a significant reversal of his long-held position.
• DeWine, who helped draft the state's capital punishment policy 45 years ago, now states he no longer believes it serves as a deterrent to violent crime.
• His change of heart follows repeated postponements of executions in Ohio, creating an unofficial moratorium largely due to pharmaceutical suppliers' unwillingness to provide lethal injection drugs.
• Despite the governor's stance, legislative repeal appears unlikely, with Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman and Attorney General Dave Yost expressing strong opposition.
• Ohio has not executed an inmate since July 2018, and DeWine anticipates no further executions during his current term, which concludes in 2026.

IN FULL

Republican governor who wrote Ohio’s death penalty law calls to scrap executions