Gov. DeWine issues reprieves for three death row inmates, continuing effective death sentence moratorium
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine issued three reprieves for inmates on Ohio’s death row, saying the state can’t procure the drugs needed to carry out the executions.
Ohio has effectively had a moratorium on executions since DeWine took office in 2019. The last execution in the state took place on July 18, 2018.
Keith LaMar was convicted of aggravated murder after five inmates were killed during a 1993 riot at Southern Ohio Correctional Institution, WKBN-TV reported. He was sentenced to death in four of the killings and was scheduled to be executed on Jan. 13, 2027, but now faces a Jan. 16, 2030, execution.
Scott Group was convicted of aggravated murder and other charges following a fatal Jan. 18, 1997, shooting at a downtown Youngstown bar, WFMJ-TV reported. His execution was set for Feb. 17, 2027, but he now faces a Feb. 13, 2030, execution.
Davel Chinn was convicted of aggravated murder and other charges for a Jan. 30, 1989, kidnapping and robbery attempt in Montgomery County, WCMH-TV reported. He was scheduled to be executed on March 18, 2027, and now faces a March 13, 2030, execution.
In a Friday evening release, DeWine’s office said the governor was “issuing these reprieves due to ongoing problems involving the willingness of pharmaceutical suppliers to provide drugs to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), pursuant to DRC protocol, without endangering other Ohioans.”
The reprieves are hardly a surprise. In June, DeWine said his “moral justification” for voting in favor of the death penalty “simply no longer exists,” and the governor called on lawmakers to abolish capital punishment in the state.
In December 2020, DeWine said lethal injection is no longer a viable option for executions in the Buckeye State and called on lawmakers to find an alternate execution method.
DeWine previously said that of the 337 people sentenced to death, 41 died of either natural causes or by suicide. Another 89 were removed from death row by the courts. Just 56, roughly 16.6%, have been executed.
The Attorney General’s Office’s Capital Crimes report, released in April, revealed that the state has the fifth-largest Death Row population in the country. At the time, it had 113 inmates.
