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Thread: Ohio Capital Punishment News

  1. #51
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    Bill Introduced to Abolish Death Penalty in Ohio

    Several members of an Ohio house committee will tour the Ohio State Penitentiary -- also known as the Youngstown Supermax Prison -- today, where dozens of inmates sitting on Ohio's death row are housed.

    Meanwhile, several state lawmakers are looking at whether to abolish the death penalty here in Ohio.

    There are about 125 inmates on death row at the penitentiary. In Columbus, a number of lawmakers have introduced House Bill 160, which would abolish the death penalty in Ohio and grant those on death row automatic hearings to be resentenced to life without parole. Anyone convicted in any future instances of criminal homicide would get nothing less than life without parole.

    Members of the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee -- two of whom introduced the bill -- were also touring areas of the prison that held inmates who have already been sentenced to life without parole.

    Proponents of the bill said that life sentences without parole would cost the state much less than death sentences, which often involve several appeals through the state and federal court systems.

    As an example, just last week in Georgie, inmate Troy Davis, was executed for the shooting death of a police officer in 1989. He made numerous appeals and there were even pleas by the Pope to intercede and issue Davis, instead, a life sentence.

    People in Ohio see this House bill as the ice potentially beginning to break on abolishment of the death penalty.

    http://www.wytv.com/content/news/loc...wNtMaPs3g.cspx

  2. #52
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    State considers relocating Death Row to Chillicothe

    Ohio’s Death Row – now located in prisons in Youngstown and Mansfield – appears to be headed to the Chillicothe Correctional Institution.

    Carlo LoParo, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrrection, said the state is “seriously considering” the relocation after studying it for several months. A final decision will be announced shortly.

    “Consolidating and relocating Death Row inmates will resolve several security and logistical concerns,” he said. “Also, the move will increase DRC’s overall efficiency, and enhance the agency’s ability to deal with dangerous inmates.”

    One advantage of Chillicothe would be its proximity to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility where executions are conducted, he said.

    The Chillicothe prison opened in 1966 on a 72-acre site. It has a staff of 538, including 337 corrections officers, and an annual budget of $47.3 million. As of August, the prison had 2,923 inmates.

    There are 117 Death Row inmates at the Ohio State Penitentiary at Youngstown and 29 at the Mansfield Correctional Institution. There is one female on Death Row; she is housed at the Ohio Reformatory for Women at Marysville and would remain there.

    The six highest-security male Death Row prisoners will not be moved to the new location; they will remain at Youngstown.

    The consolidation would free up 300 high-security cells at Youngstown and Mansfield, the department said. The cells will be used for offenders who commit violent acts in prison against other inmates and staff members.

    In the past two years, there were 5,070 violent incidents throughout all institutions.

    DRC Director Gary C. Mohr is reconfiguring the state prison system to group different levels of offenders at separate institutions, largely to stem the tide of violence, LoParo said.

    The Death Row consolidation will also free up 80 correction officers now working on Death Row to work in high-security assignments in other facilities.

    The cost to the state prison system of transporting inmates to Lucasville for execution will also be reduced. The trips cost $1,200 apiece from Youngstown and $406 from Mansfield. By comparison, Chillicothe is a 27-mile trip south on State Route 23 to Lucasville.

    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...death-row.html

  3. #53
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    Death Row moving to Chillicothe, state confirms

    It’s official: Ohio’s Death Row will move to the Chillicothe Correctional Institution by Jan. 1.

    As first reported last week by The Dispatch, all but a handful of the 148 inmates under death sentences will move out of the Ohio State Penitentiary at Youngstown and the Mansfield Correctional Institution and head to southern Ohio, the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction announced today.

    “We are going to reduce violence in our prisons, and we are going to do it by better allocating our resources,” said state prisons chief Gary C. Mohr. “We will maintain Death Row inmates in the same highly secure and highly restrictive environment at one location, and gain valuable cell space that will allow us to separate and better manage our most violent inmates.”

    Mohr said the consolidation will free up hundreds of maximum-security prison cells at Mansfield and Youngstown which will be used to separate violent offenders from other inmates. The state reported a wave of violence behind bars in 2009 and 2010, with 5,070 incidents statewide; only five incidents involved Death Row inmates.

    The move will also allow 80 corrections officers on Death Row at Youngstown and Mansfield to be reassigned to other duties within those institutions, officials said.

    In addition, the Chillicothe prison is also close to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville, where executions are held. Officials said that will reduce security and cost issues related to transporting prisoners for executions.

    Two Death Row inmates who are under medical care at the Franklin Medical Center in Columbus, the state’s only woman under a death sentence, and five highest-security male inmates will not make the move.

    Death Row first opened at the old Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus from 1885 to 1972; moved to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility from 1972 to 1995; shifted to Mansfield in 1995 to 2005; and to Youngstown in 2005.

    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...illicothe.html

  4. #54
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    Ohio lawmakers want death penalty moratorium

    Lawmakers pushing to ban capital punishment in Ohio have asked the governor for a moratorium on executions while a committee studies the death penalty.

    Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor recently announced that a court committee will study Ohio's death penalty law to make sure it is working as well as it should.

    O'Connor has emphasized that the committee will not examine whether to ban capital punishment.

    Democratic State Reps. Ted Celeste of Columbus and Nickie Antonio of suburban Cleveland asked Gov. John Kasich Wednesday for a moratorium while the committee does its work.

    Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols responded by saying the governor supports the death penalty.

    Lethal injections in Ohio are in an unofficial lull while a federal judge examines the constitutionality of the state's execution rules.

    http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/co....html?nav=5214

  5. #55
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    Clermont Sheriff appointed to task force on death penalty

    BATAVIA, OH (FOX19) - Sheriff A.J. Rodenberg of Clermont County has been appointed by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor to serve as a member of a newly created task force to review the administration of Ohio's death penalty.

    The task force will be comprised of 20 members including attorneys, judges, and professors.

    The purpose of the committee is not to discuss or debate if Ohio should have a death penalty, but rather, review current law and procedures to determine if the penalty is being imposed and implemented in the most fair and judicious manner possible.

    The first meeting of the task force will be in November at the Ohio Judicial Center in Columbus.

    "I am honored to have been selected to serve as a law enforcement representative for this important endeavor," said Sheriff Rodenberg. "Hopefully my background in criminal justice as a student, professor, defense attorney, prosecutor, and Sheriff will allow me to bring something of value to the table."

    http://www.fox19.com/story/15742920/...-death-penalty

  6. #56
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    Ohio's death penalty review committee, convened by chief justice, meeting for first time

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — A committee charged with examining possible changes to Ohio's death penalty law meets the first time this week.

    Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor has convened the task force while making it clear the committee won't debate whether Ohio should have capital punishment.

    The committee, to meet publicly on Thursday at the Ohio State Bar Association, includes veteran prosecutors who have long supported the death penalty, along with defense attorneys who have fought its imposition.

    The committee also includes judges, lawmakers, a sheriff, academic experts and a representative of the state prison system.

    O'Connor, a Republican and a former prosecutor, has said the committee's goal is to produce a fair, impartial, and balanced analysis of the state's 30-year-old law.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...y-Ohio-Review/

  7. #57
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    19 named to review death penalty in Ohio

    The 19 members of a state panel that will review whether Ohio’s death penalty is being administered fairly include six judges, three legislators, two prosecutors and a sheriff.

    The Ohio Supreme Court and State Bar Association yesterday named members of their previously announced joint task force. The first meeting will be Thursday in Columbus.

    “The task force will not decide whether Ohio should or should not have the death penalty,” Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said in a statement.

    Instead, she said, panel members will conduct a thorough review of capital punishment to ensure that the state’s death penalty is administered in the most fair and judicious manner possible.

    The task force is expected to make recommendations sometime next year. An exact date has not been determined, court spokesman Chris Davey said.

    Retired 2nd District Court of Appeals Judge James Brogan will chair the panel.

    Other members are Sara Andrews, deputy director for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction; Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters; Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Stephen McIntosh; Ohio State law professor Douglas Berman; 8th District Court of Appeals Judge Kathleen Keough; John P. Parker, a lawyer in private practice; Cleveland State law professor Phyllis Crocker; Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Linda Jennings; lawyer Samuel Porter with Porter, Wright, Morris and Arthur; Jon Paul Rion with Rion, Rion & Rion; Clermont County Sheriff Albert Rodenberg; Stephen Schumaker with the attorney general’s office; Belmont County Common Pleas Judge John Solovan; Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John Russo; Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins; state Sens. Shirley Smith, D-Cleveland, and Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati; and state Rep. Lynn Slaby, R-Akron.

    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...y-in-ohio.html

  8. #58
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    Ohio death penalty review committee to meet

    COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges are among those ready to begin debate on possible changes to Ohio's 30-year-old death penalty law.

    A task force convened by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor planned to hold its first meeting Thursday in Columbus at the offices of the Ohio State Bar Association.

    O'Connor, a Republican and former prosecutor, has made it clear the committee won't examine whether Ohio should have capital punishment.

    O'Connor says the committee's goal is to produce a fair, impartial and balanced analysis of the state's law.

    Enacted in 1981, the law governs when and how the death penalty can be imposed, including alternate sentences and appeals issues.

    The committee also includes lawmakers, a sheriff, academic experts and a representative of the state prison system.

    http://www.wtrf.com/story/15947339/o...mittee-to-meet

  9. #59
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    Death row inmates transferred to Chillicothe prison

    The Chillicothe Correctional Institution received its first group of death row inmates today.

    So far, 27 death row inmates have been received at CCI from the Mansfield Correctional Institution. The Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections reported the transport was completed without incident.

    "Today marks an historic episode in CCI's existence as we embark on our mission of housing Ohio's Death row inmates. I am very pleased with the cooperation of our local stakeholders and professionalism of our employees," CCI Warden Norm Robinson said in a news release.

    CCI Public Information Officer Mark Hooks said the prison is on target to complete the transfer of all 145 male death row inmates to CCI by the end of January. Renovations are still being finalized in two of the three death row units, he added.

    The lone female death row inmate will remain at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.

    The move of death row is part of the state's overall goal of reducing violence in Ohio's prisons by opening up several hundred needed high-security beds both at Mansfield and the Ohio Penitentiary in Youngstown.

    Location was one of the key deciding factors in the selection process since CCI is about midway between Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, where executions are done, and the Franklin Medical Center in Columbus, where inmates needing serious medical attention are treated.

    CCI was announced as the new location in October after a committee, which included former CCI warden Robin Knab who was promoted to central regional director, made the recommendation.

    As part of preparations, 260 medium-security inmates were relocated to provide a segregated housing block for death row. The inmates will be contained to the block and will not interact with the general population.

    CCI houses 2,650 minimum and medium security inmates and employs 563 people -- 25 more than was reported in October during the announcement of the change.

    http://www.chillicothegazette.com/ar...sey=nav%7Chead

  10. #60
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    Death Row inmates being consolidated in Chillicothe’s prison

    There's no “Green Mile” on Ohio’s new Death Row at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution. No last, long walk for the condemned.

    The reason: They will not be housed in the same prison as the Death House at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville.

    But for those about to be executed, it will be a much shorter trip — about a 40-minute drive south on Rt. 23 — once Death Row is moved by the end of the month.

    By Dec. 31, 145 men will be moved to the Chillicothe prison from the Ohio Penitentiary at Youngstown and Mansfield Correctional Institution, prison officials say. Six of the highest-security inmates who were involved in the deadly 1993 Lucasville prison riot will remain at Youngstown; four ill inmates are housed at the Franklin Medical Center south of Columbus.

    Donna Roberts of Trumbull County, the only woman on Death Row, will remain in the Ohio Reformatory for Women at Marysville.

    The move began last week with the transfer of 29 inmates, mostly from Mansfield, said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

    Security and space issues, not transportation costs, were the primary reasons for the move. However, transportation was a factor. Each 260-mile trip from Youngstown to Lucasville cost the state $1,200, largely because it involved an overnight stay for corrections officers. The cost is $406 for the 150-mile trip from Mansfield.

    It will be the fourth move in the 126-year history of Ohio’s Death Row.

    It initially was centrally located in Columbus at the old Ohio Penitentiary in 1885. Before that, hangings were conducted in individual counties. Valentine Wagner, 56, of Morrow County was the first person hanged in the old Ohio Pen, on July 31, 1885, records show. Twenty-seven men followed before the electric chair was introduced in 1897.

    “Old Sparky,” as the electric chair came to be known, claimed the lives of 315 killers between 1897 and 1963, beginning with William Haas, 17, of Hamilton County and ending with Donald Reinbolt, 29, of Columbus.

    In 1972, the same year the U.S. Supreme Court declared Ohio’s capital-punishment law unconstitutional, Death Row was moved to the newly opened prison near Lucasville. A new capital-punishment law was enacted in 1981.

    Richard “Bull” Jemison, a killer-historian who claimed to be the last person imprisoned on the old Death Row at the Ohio Pen, told The Dispatch in 1984 that he worked as a janitor and part-time tour guide in the old Death House, a one-story building inside the prison. The site is now part of the Arena District.

    Although the last execution was 21 years in the past by that time, spots were still visible on the floor from the circular wooden platform on which the electric chair stood.

    The electric chair was permanently retired in 2002 after the state adopted lethal injection as the only means of execution.

    Death Row moved to Mansfield in 1995 and then to Youngstown 10 years later.

    The Chillicothe prison opened in 1966 on 72 acres. It has a staff of 538, including 337 corrections officers, an annual budget of $47.3 million and 2,923 inmates.

    The new Death Row has a fenced, outdoor recreation area, as opposed to an indoor area with open windows. Otherwise, it will be a “prison within a prison” — an isolated, high-security lockdown with limited privileges.

    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...-the-line.html

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