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Death slows in Ohio, bringing more LWOP sentences

By Douglas A. Berman

This local AP article, headlined "Ohio death sentences declining: Crime rates are down; fewer criminals eligible," reports on the slow decline of the death penalty in Ohio.  Here are excerpts: Ohio juries sentenced only three people to death last year, matching the lowest number since the state re-enacted capital punishment 27 years ago....  Records show the number of people indicted with capital crimes in Ohio is also lower than in past decades.  Ohio has 179 people on death row, the lowest figure in several years. The state has executed 28 defendants since 1999. Prosecutors attribute the decline in death sentences to reduced crime rates and court decisions that have narrowed the eligibility for the death penalty. They also say the availability of a sentence of life without the possibility of parole is leading juries to sentence fewer people to death...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 12, 2009 (boomark / email).