Ohio governor: Lethal injection no longer execution option

By JULIE CARR SMYTH, FARNOUSH AMIRI and ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press/Report for America

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Gov. Mike DeWine says Ohio lawmakers must choose a different method of capital punishment before any executions can be carried out in the future.

The governor says lethal injection is no longer an option for Ohio because of difficulties finding drugs and repercussions the state could face from drugmakers if one of their pharmaceuticals was used in an execution.

DeWine said Tuesday that the state won't see any executions next year.

DeWine also said he has become skeptical of capital punishment's effectiveness as a deterrent because of the long appeals process.

Ohio's last execution was in July 2018.

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