OHIO — It has been seven years since Ohio has seen a capital-punishment, or death row sentence, conducted through the justice system. 

Attorney General Dave Yost addressed the release of the 2024 Capital Crimes Report, saying that the system has not had any substantial changes to fix it.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio has not conducted a capital punishment death since 2018
  • There are currently 116 inmates on death row in the state
  • Inmates spend, on average, just over 22 years on death row

  • Lethal injections is the state's only approved method for conducting a capital punishment

“The only thing that has changed? The killers got a year older,” Yost said. “There needs to be some real progress, until that happens, Ohio cannot fulfill its promise of justice.”

The annual report comes from the Attorney General's Office that provides the history and information on every case that has resulted in a death sentence since the state law was enacted in 1981.

Since the start of the law through Dec. 31, 2024, 337 people have received a combined 342 death sentences, according to the report. Of these, only 56 sentences have been carried out and none of them have occurred since July 2018.

On average, many of the death row inmates are approximately 34.24-years-old at sentencing, including most current re-sentencing. As of April 1, the average age of a person on death row is 56.38-years-old. These inmates spend, on average, 8,048.27 days, or 22.03 years, on death row.

Ohio currently has 116 death row inmates facing a combined 118 death sentences. Last year, one inmate was resentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole and three others were ineligible for the death penalty because of a disability or mental illness. In June, one person was sentenced to death. 

"As of Dec. 31, 2024, 88 death sentences have been removed by judicial action resulting in re-sentencing or release," the report notes. "Most were removed because of legal errors, such as ineffective assistance of counsel, Brady violations, juror errors or appellate court determinations that the aggravating circumstances of the crime did not outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt."

On average, Ohio death row inmates spend more than 22 years on death row, mostly because of multiple avenues for appeal, before the execution date is set. Yost noted how a federal appeals court allowed convicted murderer Danny Lee Hill to file another challenge to his conviction and sentence.

Since he was convicted and sentenced to die nearly 40 years ago, Hill has filed more than 25 appeals. Hill was found guilty of the rape, torture and murder of a 12-year-old boy in Trumbull County. 

“The appeals court’s decision requires a federal trial judge to review evidence that Ohio courts have already ruled should not affect Hill’s conviction,” Yost said in a news release.

Yost also said a delay comes from the reluctance of pharmaceutical companies to provide lethal-injection drugs for the executions. Ohio’s only legalized method for performing a death sentence is through the lethal injections.

He urges Ohio’s elected leaders to break the impasse, pointing to two potential solutions. 

One is reaching out to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to get access to the drugs needed for the injections. 

“Without the assistance of the federal government, Ohio’s situation is unlikely to change,” Yost said in a letter to Bondi.

The state’s lawmakers are also considering legislation that would use nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative to an injection. 

“There are two paths available to Ohio to enforce the laws on our books,” Yost said. “Pick one.”

To view the full 2024 Capital Crimes Report, click here.