by Rebecca Downs
Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday revealed his stance on the death penalty, ruffling the feathers of many Ohio Republicans in the process.
“I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty. The Legislature could take this action, and I think they should take this action,” the governor said during a press conference.
DeWine, a Republican leader who has been in Ohio politics for decades, cosponsored Senate Bill 1 to reinstate the death penalty while he was a state lawmaker. That bill was signed into law in 1981.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that DeWine supported the death penalty when he was lieutenant governor, a member of the U.S. Congress, and also Ohio’s attorney general.
“When I voted for the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1981, I believed that in some cases capital punishment could serve as a deterrent to keep some people from killing. For me, it was the moral justification for having the death penalty,” DeWine explained.
He no longer believes it is a deterrent, however, and even said it is “impossible to make the case” today.
A bipartisan bill in the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Bill 134, pertains to abolishing the death penalty. The bill’s sponsors include state Sen. Nickie Antonio, a Democrat, and state Sen. Stephen Huffman, a Republican.
ACLU Ohio posted that DeWine “can and must use his executive authority to issue commutations to death row inmates who have exhausted all of their appeals in the courts.”
DeWine received some support at the federal level as well, including from U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who referenced his pro-life beliefs from “conception all the way through natural death.”
“I support his moral point of view,” Moreno said about DeWine’s stance.
Sen. @berniemoreno tells me he agrees with @GovMikeDeWine and personally opposes the death penalty, saying it’s “not something humans should do.”
(stating the obvious here: Moreno doesn’t have a vote in the Ohio leg, but he’s among the highest ranking members of the Ohio GOP!) pic.twitter.com/XEyDfleSL3
— Sarah Donaldson (@SarahEDon) June 17, 2026
State Rep. Brian Stewart, who supports the death penalty, nevertheless called the governor’s announcement “the least surprising news imaginable.” He further expressed his own support of the death penalty by highlighting individuals convicted of vicious crimes and by noting that the General Assembly “has already spoken” when it comes to keeping the death penalty as the law.
There’s no “onus” to put on lawmakers.
The General Assembly has already spoken: capital punishment is the law.
The “onus” is on the executive branch to carry it out and enforce it. https://t.co/TU97SaKMkZ
— Brian Stewart (@BrianStewartOH) June 16, 2026
Dave Yost, who left his attorney general role earlier this month to work for Alliance Defending Freedom, posted on X that his replacement, Andy Wilson, signaled his commitment to keeping the death penalty.
I wondered how the new guy would react to his former boss’s public repentance on the death penalty. He stood his ground, and proved up again his prosecutor chops. https://t.co/T2l88XfWId
— Dave Yost (@DaveYostOH) June 17, 2026
Wilson issued a statement on Wednesday that referenced his own experience as a prosecutor.
“Having personally handled several death penalty trials, I understand the value of the death penalty as an option for prosecutors and victims in very limited circumstances. The decision to seek the death penalty is the most serious decision a prosecutor can make. My experience working with prosecutors across the state is that they do not make this choice lightly,” it read.
Wilson’s statement also referenced that there are a few cases where “the death penalty is the only option that can bring a measure of justice and closure to the families of victims who rely on the criminal justice system to help them through the worst moments of their lives.”
Despite DeWine’s stance, Wilson noted that the death penalty is “currently allowable under Ohio law.”
Both the Republican and Democrat nominees running to replace Wilson for attorney general favor keeping the death penalty, reflecting bipartisan opposition to DeWine’s new stance.
Auditor Keith Faber, the Republican nominee, stressed a need to utilize the current law and to “work with the General Assembly to identify constitutional methods of execution that can be implemented immediately.” He also argued that the death penalty serves as a deterrence to crime.
While I appreciate that Governor DeWine has come to his new position on the death penalty earnestly, I believe he’s wrong on this issue. The current law has not been utilized. It should be. I’ll work with the General Assembly to identify constitutional methods of execution that…
— Keith Faber (@KeithFaber) June 16, 2026
Democrat candidate John Kulewicz said he supports “the continued existence” of the death penalty, given that there are some crimes, “such as prisoners killing guards,” for which there “can be no other remedy.”
“We must be exceedingly cautious, careful, and deliberate in applying it, because it is irrevocable,” Kulewicz said.
Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, a nonprofit that advocates abolishing the death penalty, thanked DeWine for his stance.
“His call for the abolishment of capital punishment in Ohio is an encouraging sign and reflects growing recognition that the state can move toward a more just and life-affirming approach. There currently are 114 individuals on death row in Ohio. Throughout his term, Governor DeWine has upheld a moratorium on executions. I am so grateful for his dedicated leadership and conviction on this pro-life issue,” Murphy said.
“Governor DeWine is a Catholic whose faith has always inspired his public service. As fellow Catholics who advocate for the dignity of every human life, we urge him to go further and grant clemency to those on Ohio’s death row. The time to act is now,” she added.
The last time Ohio carried out the death penalty was in 2018. Although DeWine paused executions in 2019, the next execution has been scheduled for Jan. 13, 2027, right after DeWine leaves office, the Columbus Dispatch also noted.
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Rebecca Downs is an Ohio correspondent for the Daily Signal. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “Mike DeWine” by Mike DeWine.
