Botched Executions

09.15.17

Death is Back in Ohio

By Katrice Williams

Wednesday, September the 13^th, marks the second execution to take its place in the State of Ohio following a three year rupture after Governor John Kasich launched a moratorium on executions, subsequent to the torturous effects of the lethal concoction of midazolam and hydromorphone used in the execution of Dennis McGuire on January 16^th, 2014.

01.04.17

Hopelessly Broken: End Capital Punishment

By Katrice Williams

As part of our “tough on crime” mentality, many elected officials and members of the public have supported the belief  that people convicted of serious violent crimes are deserving of death, yet few of us look beyond the crime to see how these sentences are handed down.

04.08.16

Ohio is Asking the Wrong Questions about the Death Penalty

By James Kosmatka

Earlier this month, members of the Ohio General Assembly gathered to receive information about capital punishment in Ohio. The Joint Legislative Study Committee on Victims’ Rights listened to a representative from the Office of the Attorney General while he discussed the problems Ohio is having obtaining the needed drugs to execute people.

10.22.14

Death by Secrecy

By Mike Brickner

Ohio’s death penalty has had a long and sordid history. Just look at the past decade:

» Four botched executions.

» Ten people granted clemency by the governor.

» Fifty-six recommendations from an Ohio Supreme Court taskforce of experts to revamp our broken system.

09.11.14

Will the next execution be as botched as the last?

By Kimberly Millhoan

At this point, we do not know. But we do know that it’s a gamble the State of Ohio is willing to take, as officials recently released the revised execution schedule for the next two years.

In April, we urged Governor John Kasich to pause executions through the end of 2015 so that courts and experts could take the time needed to ensure that lethal injections do not amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

08.15.14

Is Ohio’s Death Penalty in Its Last Throes?

By Mike Brickner

It shouldn’t be news to anyone who has read a paper or watched television that there are significant problems with lethal injection. This year, Ohio, Oklahoma and Arizona have all had executions that left witnesses with little doubt that they were botched.

05.28.14

Time to Pause

By Mike Brickner

As long as the death penalty exists, we have a duty to make sure that it is carried out fairly. Death is the harshest punishment society can dole out, so we must ensure that the right person is convicted, that it is reserved for the worst offenses, and that the execution procedure is transparent and administered in a humane way.

01.16.14

New Execution Methods Can’t Disguise Same Old Death Penalty Problems

By Mike Brickner

Ohio made history today by becoming the first state to use the two-drug combination of midazolam and hydromorphone in the execution of Dennis McGuire. State officials decided to use this experimental combination of powerful sedatives and painkillers after supplies of approved execution drugs ran dry.

11.05.13

Standing on the Side of Justice

By Nick Worner

On Saturday, November 2, 2013, a coalition of faith groups, unions, professional associations, community groups, and rights organizations (including the ACLU of Ohio) held a rally at the Ohio Statehouse.

Visit our Facebook album for pictures from the rally.

At this rally, we called on Ohio lawmakers to halt the death penalty, end the war on drugs and the epidemic of mass incarceration, break the many reentry barriers for the formerly incarcerated, and put a stop to “stand your ground” proposals in Ohio.

10.24.13

Standing Against the Death Penalty

By Nick Worner

On Saturday, November 2, 2013 a coalition of faith groups, unions, professional associations, community groups, and rights organizations (including the ACLU of Ohio) will hold a rally at the Ohio Statehouse. At this rally, we will call on Ohio lawmakers to halt the death penalty, end the war on drugs and the epidemic of mass incarceration, break the many reentry barriers for the formerly incarcerated, and put a stop to “stand your ground” proposals in Ohio.