The state of Ohio has executed 56 men since 1981, and in the same timeframe, vacated the convictions of 12 other men.
Over the course of five decades, that’s a roughly 1-in-5 executed-to-exonerated ratio for death row inmates, according to a recent report by repeal advocates Ohioans to Stop Executions. And that does not include 12 other cases where defendants, who faced death sentences but received life sentences, were found innocent.
“We just can’t ignore the issues of wrongful conviction any longer,” said Kevin Werner, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions. “We just can’t get it right.”
The report cited “official misconduct,” whether by police or prosecutors, in 11 of those 12 exonerations. The misconduct ranges from withholding evidence to coercion of witnesses.
Ohio has not gone through with an execution since July 2018, closing in on eight years and extending the entirety of Gov. Mike DeWine’s tenure. DeWine has stayed every scheduled one since January 2019, some more than once.
Elwood Jones is among those on death row whose execution date had been rescheduled by DeWine. But now, Jones is no longer incarcerated—after 27 years on death row, he was released in 2022 and saw his charges dismissed in 2025.
“If they had the drugs, I would be dead,” Jones said Monday. “And I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Among the many arguments for and against executions, its opponents highlight stories from death row exonerees like Jones. Its proponents often say it’s a crime deterrent reserved for “the worst of the worst.”
A slow-growing contingent of GOP lawmakers are for abolishing executions, but House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said in February it’s not a majority of the majority caucus.
“If it got to the point where an overwhelming number of my caucus said, ‘We want to do that,’ no, I’m not going to block that from coming to the floor,” Huffman told reporters. “I just don’t think that’s going to happen.”
107 men and one woman are incarcerated on death row in Ohio, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections data.
For several months, DeWine has hinted at coming out against the death penalty in practice, but so far has made no announcement.
