Capital punishment in Ohio

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Capital punishment in Ohio is legal. Since 1897, a total of 341 individuals have been executed in the U.S. state of Ohio. A total of 191 people are under a sentence of death in the state as of October 13, 2007. The current method of execution in Ohio is lethal injection.

Contents

[edit] Process

The jury does decide the sentence and may give a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for capital offenses.Clemency rests with the governor of Ohio, who receives a non-binding report from the Ohio Parole Board.

[edit] Locations and Method

Executions in Ohio are currently performed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. Death row for the majority of male inmates is located at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown (a few male death row inmates are housed at the Mansfield Correctional Institution in Mansfield) while condemned female inmates are housed at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. Prior to the introduction of lethal injection, executions were carried out in the state's electric chair. Electrocution was adopted in Ohio in 1897, making it the second state to use it. 315 electrocutions were carried out at the now defunct Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus between then and 1963.

[edit] Capital offenses

Aggravated murder with special circumstances:

    • The defendant knowingly created a grave risk of death for one or more persons in addition to the victim of the offense.
    • The murder was committed for pecuniary gain or pursuant to an agreement that the defendant would receive something of value.
    • The capital offense was committed by a person who is incarcerated, has escaped, is on probation, is in jail, or is under a sentence of imprisonment.
    • The offender in the commission of the offense, purposefully caused the death of another who was under thirteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense and the defendant committed the offense with prior calculation and design.
    • The offense was the assassination of the president of the United States or person in line of succession to the presidency, or of the governor or lieutenant governor of this state, or of the president-elect or vice president-elect of the United States, or of the governor-elect of this state, or of a candidate for any of the foregoing offices.
    • The murder was committed against a witness in a criminal proceeding to prevent the witness from appearing, or for revenge.
    • The offense was committed while the offender was committing, attempting to commit, or fleeing immediately after committing or attempting to commit terrorism.

[edit] List of individuals executed since 1976

All of the following individuals have been executed for murder since the Furman decision. All 26 were executed by lethal injection. Notable persons executed in Ohio before the Furman decision include Anna Marie Hahn.

Executed person Date of execution Murder victim(s) Under Governor
1 Wilford Berry, Jr. February 19, 1999 Charles Mitroff Bob Taft
2 Jay D. Scott June 14, 2001 Vinnie M. Price Bob Taft
3 John William Byrd, Jr. February 19, 2002 Monte Tewksbury Bob Taft
4 Alton Coleman April 26, 2002 Tonnie Storey and Marlene Walters Bob Taft
5 Robert Anthony Buell September 24, 2002 Krista Lea Harrison Bob Taft
6 Richard Edwin Fox February 12, 2003 Leslie Renae Keckler Bob Taft
7 David M. Brewer April 29, 2003 Sherry Byrne Bob Taft
8 Ernest Martin June 18, 2003 Robert Robinson Bob Taft
9 Lewis Williams, Jr. January 14, 2004 Leoma Chmielewski Bob Taft
10 John Glenn Roe February 3, 2004 Donette Crawford Bob Taft
11 William Dean Wickline March 30, 2004 Peggy and Christopher Lerch Bob Taft
12 William G. Zuern, Jr. June 8, 2004 Phillip Pence Bob Taft
13 Stephen Allan Vrabel July 14, 2004 Susan Clemente and Lisa Clemente Bob Taft
14 Scott Andrew Mink July 20, 2004 William Mink and Sheila Mink Bob Taft
15 Adremy Dennis October 13, 2004 Kurt Kyle Bob Taft
16 William Smith March 8, 2005 Mary Bradford Bob Taft
17 Herman Dale Ashworth September 27, 2005 Daniel L. Baker Bob Taft
18 William James "Flip" Williams, Jr. October 25, 2005 William Dent, Alfonda R. Madison, Sr., Eric Howard and Theodore Wynn Jr. Bob Taft
19 John R. Hicks November 29, 2005 Brandy Green Bob Taft
20 Glenn Lee Benner II February 7, 2006 Trina Bowser, Cynthia Sedgwick Bob Taft
21 Joseph Lewis Clark May 2, 2006 David A. Manning, Donald B. Harris Bob Taft
22 Rocky Barton July 12, 2006 Kimbirli Jo Barton Bob Taft
23 Darrell Ferguson August 8, 2006 Thomas King, Arlie Fugate, Mae Fugate Bob Taft
24 Jeffrey Lundgren October 24, 2006 Dennis Avery, Cheryl Avery, Trina Avery, Rebecca Avery, Karen Avery Bob Taft
25 James Filiaggi April 24, 2007 Lisa Huff Filiaggi Ted Strickland
26 Christopher Newton May 24, 2007 Jason Brewer Ted Strickland

[edit] Demographics

The demographic information on the 23 inmates executed in Ohio between February 19, 1999 and August 8, 2006 is as follows:

  • African-American: ~39 percent
  • Caucasian: ~61 percent
  • Mean Age at Time of Execution: 44 years, 9 months
  • Mean Time from Death Sentence to Execution: 14 years, 5 months
  • Median Time from Death Sentence to Execution: 17 years, 1 month

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

These links are to official State of Ohio records regarding executions in the state and Ohio administrative rules and statutes pertaining to capital punishment in Ohio

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Capital punishment in the United States
In depth
Lists of those executed