Anti-death penalty activists say they’re seeing movement on their cause from a group that’s long been viewed as supportive of capital punishment – conservative Republicans.
Some Republicans have been coming out against the way the death penalty has been carried out in Ohio, including former Gov. Bob Taft and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer, who helped create Ohio’s death penalty statute.
Republicans who lead the legislature say they’re now reviewing it. Hannah Kubbins with Ohioans to Stop Executions said that’s happening in other states too.
“I know in 2019, we saw 11 states that had Republican-sponsored repeal legislation. So it’s no longer a partisan issue. We’re seeing more and more conservatives taking the lead on it.”
On Martin Luther King Day, the national group Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty was urging Republicans to tweet out their signed pledges to support death penalty repeal.
Proud to formally sign on to help end the Death Penalty in Ohio. Encourage other conservatives in Ohio to do the same. @HannahCox7 @HKubbins https://t.co/OIiYqgXwCn
— Michael Hartley (@MichaelPHartley) January 20, 2020
