Tiffin University’s Ohio Innocence Project and National Criminal Justice Honor Society Chapters Present the Death Penalty in Ohio

Tiffin University's student chapters of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP-u: TU) and the National Criminal Justice Honor Society (Alpha Phi Sigma) will present a conversation on the death penalty on November 12, at 7 p.m. in the Marion Center. The program will feature Kevin Werner and Kendall White, Executive Director and Deputy Director of Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE). They will be joined by Pierce Reed, Director for Policy and Engagement for the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP). The presentation is free and open to the public.

OTSE is the only single-issue death penalty repeal organization in Ohio. OTSE represents millions of Ohioans who oppose the death penalty; they are the lead organization in the #NoDeathPenaltyOhio campaign to abolish Ohio's capital punishment system. OTSE cites racial disparity, financial considerations and concerns of innocence as the primary reasons for its efforts. The Ohio Innocence Project has been active in a legislative campaign advocating for Senate Bill 101 and House Bill 259, two pieces of bipartisan legislation that would abolish the death penalty in Ohio and replace it with life without parole. Nationally, 196 people have been exonerated after receiving a death sentence. 11 of those people were exonerated from Ohio's death row including three men represented by OIP.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued a temporary halt to executions in 2019 after a federal judge declared its three-drug protocol to be cruel and unusual because of the pain it inflicts on prisoners. DeWine stated that "we certainly cannot have any executions in Ohio" until a new method was developed. Ohio currently has 114 inmates on death row. Attorney General, Dave Yost, is supporting a legislative effort to bring nitrogen gas executions to Ohio. Yost said that implementing this method would solve the problem of finding new drugs and bring an end to the unofficial death penalty moratorium imposed by Gov. DeWine. Alabama first adopted this method back in January. State officials in Alabama said the process was humane and effective, while critics called it cruel and experimental. The Ohio bill would give condemned inmates a choice between lethal injection and nitrogen gas but would require their executions to go forward with nitrogen gas if lethal injection drugs are not available. Ohio would become the fourth state to use this method. A statewide public opinion poll of voters' views on capital punishment shows that most of the Ohioans support repealing the death penalty in favor of life without parole.

The mission of the Tiffin University undergraduate chapter of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP-u) is to spread awareness of the problem of wrongful convictions. Since its inception in 2003, the Ohio Innocence Project has released 42 wrongfully convicted Ohioans who have spent over 800 years total in prison for crimes they did not commit. It is the only Ohio-based nonprofit organization dedicated to freeing innocent persons, as well as educating the public on the flaws of our legal system and the societal issues that lead to such injustices. OIP is now also working on bills that would abolish the death penalty, allow courts to consider more DNA evidence and help original crime victims in wrongful conviction cases obtain restitution from the state.

For more information, visit facebook.com/OhioInnocenceProject or contact Dr. Steven Hurwitz, Program Faculty Advisor, with any questions at [email protected].

Alpha Phi Sigma (APS) recognizes academic excellence of undergraduate and graduate students of Criminal Justice, as well as juris doctorate students. The goals of APS are to honor and promote academic excellence, community service, educational leadership and unity. APS is the only Criminal Justice Honor Society and is a certified member of the Association of College Honor Societies, affiliated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. For more information about APS, contact Dr. Johnathon Sharp at [email protected].