Ohio does have the death penalty, but no one has been executed in the state since July 2018. Capital punishment remains legally available for aggravated murder, juries and judges still impose death sentences, and more than 100 people sit on death row. What has stopped is the executions themselves. Governor Mike DeWine began issuing reprieves in 2019 after courts raised concerns about the state’s lethal injection protocol, and he has continued postponing every scheduled execution since.
Why Executions Have Stopped
The last execution in Ohio was on July 18, 2018, when Robert Van Hook was put to death by lethal injection for a 1985 murder. Lethal injection is still the only authorized method under state law, which requires a drug or combination “of sufficient dosage to quickly and painlessly cause death.”1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2949.22 – Method of Execution of Death Sentence The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has not been able to obtain those drugs or develop an alternative protocol that satisfies legal requirements.2Death Penalty Information Center. Ohio
In January 2026, DeWine issued fresh reprieves pushing execution dates into 2029, and he has said he does not expect anyone to be executed during the remainder of his time in office.3Office of the Governor. Governor DeWine Issues Reprieves The result is a de facto moratorium layered on top of a statute that is still fully in force.
How Many People Are on Death Row
At the end of 2024, Ohio held 116 people on death row facing a combined 118 death sentences. Of the 337 death sentences imposed in the state since 1981, only 56 have been carried out — roughly one in six.4Ohio Attorney General. Report – Still No Sign of Progress in Ohio’s Capital-Punishment Stalemate Sentences continue to be handed down; what has changed is whether they end in execution.
What Crimes Can Bring a Death Sentence
Only aggravated murder is eligible. That means purposely causing someone’s death together with at least one statutory aggravating circumstance charged in the indictment and proven beyond a reasonable doubt.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2903.01 – Aggravated Murder A standard murder conviction, however serious, does not qualify.
The aggravating circumstances include:6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.04
- Prior calculation and design — the killing was planned rather than impulsive
- Felony murder committed during kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary
- A victim under thirteen years old
- A law enforcement officer victim engaged in duties or specifically targeted
- A killing done to prevent testimony in a criminal case
- A prior conviction for purposeful killing
- The offender was in custody or under detention
- A killing tied to an act of terrorism
Most Ohio capital indictments involve felony murder or prior calculation and design.
Who Cannot Be Sentenced to Death
State law and constitutional rulings put three categories of defendants off-limits, even when the crime itself would qualify.
Anyone Under 18 at the Time of the Offense
If the defendant was younger than eighteen when the crime happened, the death penalty is unavailable and the maximum sentence becomes life imprisonment.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.02 – Murder Penalties
People With Serious Mental Illness
Since April 2021, Ohio has barred death sentences for defendants who had one of four specific illnesses at the time of the offense: schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or delusional disorder. Diagnosis alone is not enough. The defendant must also show the illness significantly impaired their ability to conform their behavior to the law or to appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct.8Office of the Ohio Public Defender. HB136 – Seriously Mentally Ill Exempt from Death Penalty The law applies retroactively, so people already on death row can petition for resentencing. If the court finds someone qualifies, the sentence converts to life without parole.
People With Intellectual Disability
Following Atkins v. Virginia, Ohio courts apply a three-part test: an IQ of approximately 70 or below, significant deficits in adaptive skills such as communication and daily living, and onset of those deficits before age eighteen. The defendant carries the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence.
How a Death Sentence Gets Imposed
Capital cases in Ohio use a split trial. The jury first decides guilt. If it convicts on aggravated murder with at least one aggravating circumstance, the case moves to a separate penalty phase where the same jury chooses between death and life imprisonment.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.03
During the penalty phase, the defense can present mitigating factors. Statutory mitigators include victim inducement or facilitation, duress or strong provocation, mental disease or defect affecting understanding or control, the offender’s youth, lack of a significant criminal history, and a lesser role if the offender was not the principal actor. A catch-all category lets the defense raise anything else relevant, and defense teams regularly present childhood trauma, substance abuse, military service, and mental health history.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.04 Ohio’s standard jury instructions also treat mercy itself as a mitigating factor a juror can weigh.
To recommend death, jurors must unanimously find that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. If even one juror disagrees, the jury moves to selecting among three life imprisonment options. When the jury does recommend death, the trial judge conducts the same weighing independently. Both must agree before the sentence is imposed.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.03
The Appeals Timeline
Every death sentence triggers mandatory review that stretches over decades. On average, a condemned inmate in Ohio spends more than 22 years on death row before an execution date is even set.4Ohio Attorney General. Report – Still No Sign of Progress in Ohio’s Capital-Punishment Stalemate
For offenses committed on or after January 1, 1995, the direct appeal goes straight to the Ohio Supreme Court as an appeal of right. Notice of appeal is due within 45 days of judgment.10Supreme Court of Ohio. Rules of Practice of the Supreme Court of Ohio That court is limited to the trial record and independently weighs whether the aggravators outweigh the mitigators and whether the sentence is proportionate to similar cases.11Office of the Ohio Public Defender. Death Penalty
After the direct appeal, the inmate can seek state post-conviction relief in the original trial court, raising claims that fall outside the trial record — ineffective counsel, suppressed evidence, newly discovered facts.12Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2953.21 – Post Conviction Relief Petition Once state remedies are exhausted, the inmate can file a federal habeas corpus petition challenging the conviction on U.S. Constitution grounds. That final tier can add years on its own.
The Governor’s Power to Commute
Independent of the courts, the Ohio Constitution gives the governor authority to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons for all crimes except treason and impeachment.13Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Constitution Article III, Section 11 – Governor May Grant Reprieves, Commutations and Pardons The process typically begins with a written application to the Adult Parole Authority. The Parole Board investigates, may hold a hearing, and submits a recommendation. The governor can also direct the board to look at a case without waiting for an application.14Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Clemency
Since 1976, Ohio governors have granted clemency in 21 capital cases, including eight commutations by Governor Celeste in 1991. Once a sentence is commuted to life without parole, that decision is final.
Bills That Could Change the Stalemate
Two proposals in the 136th General Assembly (2025–2026) point in opposite directions, and neither has moved far.
Senate Bill 134 would abolish the death penalty entirely and make life without parole the maximum sentence. It was introduced in March 2025 with bipartisan sponsors and remains in the Senate Judiciary Committee without a scheduled vote. A similar bill in the previous session got a hearing but never advanced to a floor vote.15Ohio Legislature. Senate Bill 134
House Bill 36 goes the other way. It would add nitrogen hypoxia as a second authorized execution method alongside lethal injection, giving the state a route around the drug supply problem. It has not advanced past committee in the Ohio House.16Ohio Legislature. House Bill 36 Until one of those bills moves or the drug situation changes, Ohio’s death penalty stays where it is: on the books, imposed by courts, and not carried out.