APPENDIX III

OHIO’S EXECUTIONS: THE LAW

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Andrew Douglas believes executions  in Ohio  may soon  become commonplace. The  last time  someone has  been executed  in its electric chair was 1962.

“It  is conceivable  that, as  the various appeals are exhausted...We in Ohio  could be witnessing an execution a month, and maybe more often,” he said.

The Canon of Judicial  Ethics prevents judges from taking a  stand on public issues,  such as capital punishment,  but Douglas  has voted  to affirm the death penalty  in every case that  has come before him  on   the  Supreme  Court   and  the  district appellate court.

Capital  punishment  was  reinstated  by  the U.S Supreme Court  in 1976. Since  Ohio’s admission to statehood in 1803, 429  people have been executed, many  of them  in the  electric chair  at the SOCF near Lucasville.

A  revised capital  punishment law  was passed  in 1981.  It  calls  for  death  in aggravated murder cases  involving assassination;  killing for hire; multiple  killings;  killing   a  law  enforcement official,  prison guard  or witness;  murders that occur  during the  commission  of  a felony;  or a murder    committed     to    escape    detention, apprehension,  trial  or  punishment  for  another offense.

If the  case is tried by  a three-judge panel, all three judges  must vote for  a guilty verdict,  if the defendant  is to be convicted.  If the vote is split,  a mistrial  is  declared  and the  case is heard again.

If the defendant is found guilty, all three judges must vote  in favor of capital  punishment, if the defendant  is to  be sentenced  to death.  A split vote provides a sentence of  either 20 or 30 years without parole.

After a person is found guilty by a judge or jury, and  the  death  penalty  is  recommended, the law provides  for  automatic  appeals  to the district appellate  court, the  Ohio Supreme  Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.