Ohio Gov. DeWine Calls for Death Penalty Abolition; Lebanon Parliament Votes to End Capital Punishment

In mid-June 2026, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called on the state legislature to abolish the death penalty, stating that if lawmakers do not act, the issue should be put before voters. DeWine, a Republican whose final term ends in early 2027, previously helped craft Ohio's 1981 death penalty law as a state senator and has continued a de facto execution ban, having postponed multiple scheduled executions during his tenure. Separately, Lebanon's parliament voted to abolish the death penalty; the measure next requires cabinet approval and would make Lebanon the first country in the Middle East to end capital punishment. According to Ohio officials, the state has more than 100 men and one woman on death row, with figures cited as 117 total, and no execution has been carried out since 2018 because pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell lethal injection drugs for that purpose. Death row inmates in Ohio now face wait times exceeding 20 years. DeWine's newly appointed Attorney General, Andy Wilson, issued a statement favoring capital punishment for prosecutors and victims' families, breaking with the governor. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman said he would "vigorously oppose" any repeal effort, and two bipartisan bills to abolish the death penalty have stalled in the legislature despite polling showing roughly 60 percent of Ohioans support repeal. As of the reporting, it remains unclear whether Ohio's Republican-controlled legislature will act on DeWine's request, and Attorney General Wilson's specific legislative stance beyond his general support for capital punishment has not been detailed. DeWine's push follows a pattern of GOP leaders being non-committal on his legislative priorities, as seen after his final State of the State address in March 2026. In Lebanon, the abolition measure's fate depends on pending cabinet approval, and the timeline or likelihood of that approval has not been reported.