Tuesday, April 5, 2011 03:06 AM
By Alan Johnson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Already second in the nation in executions, Ohio bucked a national trend last year by sending seven people to Death Row - the most since 2003.
The Ohio Capital Crimes Annual Report, which must be submitted by the state attorney general on April 1, showed that Franklin County is a holdout when it comes to death sentences.
Franklin County judges last condemned a killer to death in 2003, when Robert Bethel Jr., James T. Conway and Michael R. Turner were sentenced, according to Attorney General Mike DeWine's report.
Since Ohio's death penalty was reinstated in 1981 (after being found unconstitutional three years earlier), Franklin County has sent 18 men to Death Row. Two were executed: William D. Wickline and John Glenn Roe.
In contrast, Hamilton County issued 56 death sentences and Cuyahoga County 52 in the same period. Other counties that issued death sentences: Lucas (21), Summit (18), Mahoning (11) and Montgomery (10).
Nationally, the number of new death sentences has leveled off or declined in recent years.
Ohio has executed 43 killers, including two this year, since resuming capital punishment in 1999. Clarence Carter of Hamilton County is scheduled to be lethally injected next Tuesday. Seven other executions are scheduled this year, and two more have been set for early 2012.
Ohio was second in the nation in executions last year, with eight to Texas' 17. Ohio was the only state to increase its number of executions last year.
DeWine's report showed that the sentences of 14 Death Row prisoners have been commuted, beginning with eight clemencies that Gov. Richard F. Celeste granted just before leaving office in 1991. One inmate was spared by Gov. Bob Taft, and five received clemency from Gov. Ted Strickland.
Twenty inmates on Death Row have died in prison of natural causes before execution. Courts ruled that eight others were not subject to execution because they are mentally retarded.
The average age of the inmates who were executed was 43, and the average time they spent on Death Row was 15.3 years, the report said.
The full report, including details on all pending cases and executed prisoners, can be viewed online at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/2010CapitalCrimesReport
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/04/05/ohios-death-sentences-in-2010-most-since-2003.html?sid=101
The Ohio Capital Crimes Annual Report, which must be submitted by the state attorney general on April 1, showed that Franklin County is a holdout when it comes to death sentences.
Franklin County judges last condemned a killer to death in 2003, when Robert Bethel Jr., James T. Conway and Michael R. Turner were sentenced, according to Attorney General Mike DeWine's report.
Since Ohio's death penalty was reinstated in 1981 (after being found unconstitutional three years earlier), Franklin County has sent 18 men to Death Row. Two were executed: William D. Wickline and John Glenn Roe.
In contrast, Hamilton County issued 56 death sentences and Cuyahoga County 52 in the same period. Other counties that issued death sentences: Lucas (21), Summit (18), Mahoning (11) and Montgomery (10).
Nationally, the number of new death sentences has leveled off or declined in recent years.
Ohio has executed 43 killers, including two this year, since resuming capital punishment in 1999. Clarence Carter of Hamilton County is scheduled to be lethally injected next Tuesday. Seven other executions are scheduled this year, and two more have been set for early 2012.
Ohio was second in the nation in executions last year, with eight to Texas' 17. Ohio was the only state to increase its number of executions last year.
DeWine's report showed that the sentences of 14 Death Row prisoners have been commuted, beginning with eight clemencies that Gov. Richard F. Celeste granted just before leaving office in 1991. One inmate was spared by Gov. Bob Taft, and five received clemency from Gov. Ted Strickland.
Twenty inmates on Death Row have died in prison of natural causes before execution. Courts ruled that eight others were not subject to execution because they are mentally retarded.
The average age of the inmates who were executed was 43, and the average time they spent on Death Row was 15.3 years, the report said.
The full report, including details on all pending cases and executed prisoners, can be viewed online at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/2010CapitalCrimesReport
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/04/05/ohios-death-sentences-in-2010-most-since-2003.html?sid=101
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