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Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer urges lawmakers to repeal death penalty in Ohio  
December 18, 2011 

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio Supreme Court justice who helped write the state’s death penalty law urged lawmakers Wednesday to repeal it. 

“This is where the decision is made as to what should be the ultimate penalty,” Justice Paul Pfeifer, a Republican, said at an Ohio House of Representatives committee hearing. “I have concluded that the death sentence makes no sense to me at this point when you can have life without possibility of parole. I don’t see what society gains from that.” 

Pfeifer spoke out against the death penalty earlier this year, when he called on Republican Gov. John Kasich in January to end capital punishment. A spokesman for the governor immediately shot down Pfeifer’s suggestion. 

Wednesday marked the first time he testified before lawmakers that the death penalty should be repealed. 

Pfeifer raised concerns about the death penalty and whether it was applied evenly based on race and geography during testimony before a House committee in 2003. But he did not call for an end to capital punishment at that time. 

After his testimony before the House Criminal Justice Committee, Pfeifer said he doesn’t expect much support for his position in the GOP-controlled legislature either. Nevertheless, he laid out his case against the punishment, which he referred to as a “death lottery.” 

Pfeifer was testifying in support of House Bill 160, which would abolish the death penalty in Ohio and resentence death row inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Democratic Reps. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood and Ted Celeste of Columbus are the bill’s primary sponsors. 

Pfeifer was a state senator and chairman of the Ohio Senate’s Judiciary Committee in 1981 when the current death penalty statute became law. Executions, however, did not resume in Ohio until 1999. Since then, the state has executed 46 inmates. Twelve more are scheduled to die by September 2013. 

“Ohio is no longer well-served by our death penalty statute and it should be repealed,” Pfeifer told the committee. “And the bill you have before you is a good and important place to start.” 

Pfeifer said the punishment was meant for the “worst of the worst” -- but that is not always the case nowadays. He also said the punishment is not an effective deterrent.

pfeifer.jpgAP fileOhio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer 

“What has unfolded is an application that is hit or miss depending on where you committed the crime and the attitude of the prosecutor in that county,” he said. 

The state’s high court reviews all death penalty cases. Pfeifer said he could remain impartial during those reviews and still advocate repealing the death penalty. 

“You will find my name on opinions, continue to find my name on opinions that uphold the death penalty,” he said. “That’s entirely different,” he said, from advocating before the General Assembly that “it’s time to change the law.” 

But John Murphy, the executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said he is concerned about Pfeifer’s advocacy. 

“It certainly raises big questions about whether he can be impartial,” Murphy said. 

Murphy said he is not accusing Pfeifer of bias, adding he believes the justice makes a genuine effort to be impartial when reviewing death penalty appeals. 

Murphy also disagreed with many of Pfeifer’s arguments in favor of abolishing the death penalty in Ohio. Murphy has said capital punishment is being applied to those most heinous criminals, as was intended. He also said the death penalty is the only surefire punishment that guarantees a prisoner will never be released. 

While it is unlikely the bill to abolish the death penalty will gain traction, a task force currently is reviewing the death penalty in Ohio and will make recommendations to improve its application. 

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, who announced the formation of the task force in September, has made it clear the panel is not to decide whether the state should have the death penalty. 

After his testimony, Pfeifer met with reporters and predicted the death penalty eventually will be repealed in Ohio. He said the U.S. Supreme Court gradually has narrowed the types of cases that are eligible for the death penalty. 

“It will happen. Will it be today, tomorrow, in this session of the General Assembly? More problematic,” he said. “But the day will come when Ohio no longer has the death penalty.” 

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