Ohio A.G. Issues Capital Report

The Ohio Capital Crimes Annual Report was filed on April 1, 2011 by Attorney General Mike DeWine.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio has executed 43 killers, including two this year, since resuming capital punishment in 1999. Clarence Carter of Hamilton County is scheduled to be lethally injected next on April 12, 2011. Seven other executions are scheduled this year, and two more have been set for early 2012.

Ohio was second in the nation in executions last year, with eight to Texas' 17. Ohio was the only state to increase its number of executions last year. The eight executions last year were the most by Ohio since reinstating the death penalty in 1999. The executions scheduled for this year will surpass last year's total.

DeWine's report showed that the sentences of 14 Death Row prisoners have been commuted, beginning with eight clemencies that Governor Richard F. Celeste granted just before leaving office in 1991. One inmate received mercy from Governor Bob Taft, and five received clemency from Governor Ted Strickland, as reported by the Dispatch.

Twenty inmates on Death Row have died in prison of natural causes before execution. Eight others were released by court order because they were deemed to be mentally retarded and banned from execution pursuant to Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002).

The average age of the inmates who were executed was 43, and the average time they spent on Death Row was 15.3 years, according to the Dispatch.

For the full report: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/2010CapitalCrimesReport