DeWine Urges Ohio Legislature to Abolish Death Penalty

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called on the state legislature to abolish the death penalty during a news conference in mid-June 2026, with about six months remaining in his final term. DeWine has postponed several scheduled executions during his time in office. DeWine cited Ohio's ongoing inability to carry out executions, as pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell the drugs used in lethal injections, halting executions in the state since 2018. Ohio currently has 117 people on death row. DeWine asked lawmakers to either repeal the death penalty law outright or place the question before voters via referendum. As of the report, the legislature had not acted on DeWine's request, and it remains unresolved whether lawmakers will move to repeal the law, put it to a statewide vote, or take no action. It is also unconfirmed how DeWine's own history helping craft the state's 1981 death penalty law as a state senator factors into the legislature's response.