OHIO, USA —
Ohio legislators held the first hearing last week for a bill that would change Ohio's options for the death penalty.
Ohio has not executed anyone since 2018. In 2020, Governor Mike DeWine declared lethal injection "no longer an option." There are currently 118 inmates on death row, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's website.
House Bill 392, sponsored by State Representatives Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) and Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) would give inmates on death row a choice between lethal injection and nitrogen hypoxia. If lethal drugs are not available, nitrogen gas would be required to be used.
"This would provide a legal means for us to continue to carry out these sentences that unanimous juries have imposed in Ohio," Stewart said.
In January, Alabama was the first state to carry out an execution using nitrogen hypoxia.
"I think from a lot of people's standpoint, it was an experimental method that went horribly wrong," State Representative Michele Grim (D-Toledo) said. "It left the inmate convulsing for at least two minutes and he was straining against his restraints."
Grim is part of the Government Oversight Committee and has spoken out against the bill.
"Veterinarians don't use this method to euthanize our pets when they need to be euthanized," Grim said. "There's a lot of distress they've seen in that method. So if veterinarians are not using this method to humanely euthanize pets, why would we be using that on human beings?"
"The negative feedback came from death penalty abolitionists who have negative feedback to every execution that's been carried out," Stewart said.
The bill had its first hearing last week.
"We've had sponsor testimony that we thought went very well," Stewart said. "This bill has the support of Attorney General Dave Yost. It has support of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association."
Stewart said he believes capital punishment should be rare, but available as an option.
"There is another bill in the Ohio Legislature which would abolish the death penalty," Stewart said. "I would encourage people who are against the death penalty to go work on that bill."
House Bill 259 is a bipartisan bill, sponsored by Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) and Adam Miller (D-Columbus) to abolish the death penalty. The bill is currently in the Finance Committee and has had two hearings so far.
The next step for HB-392 is — if the committee chair Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) gives the bill the go-ahead — proponent and opponent testimony to start.