The death penalty debate in the (bellwether?) capital state of Ohio

Because I consider my own Ohio as a political bellwether, this new local article about death penalty debates in the state seems of more than just local interest.  The piece is headlined "While some push to end capital punishment in Ohio, others are fighting to keep it alive," and here are excerpts:

Even as the Geauga County Common Pleas Court recently sentenced a person to death for the first time since at least 1981, two Ohio Democrats are lobbying for a bill that would eliminate the death penalty throughout the state.... [I]f state Reps. Ted Celeste of Grandview Heights and Nickie Antonio of Lakewood get their wish, the death penalty will come to a complete halt in the Ohio for the first time since 1981 as part of House Bill 160, called the "Execute Justice Bill."...

If House Bill 160 were to pass, the death penalty would be banned.  Celeste told The Columbus Dispatch earlier this month that the costs associated with litigation and multiple appeals for death row inmates can run tens of millions of dollars a year.  "This should be a part of the overall budget conversation as it has the potential to provide major financial savings at a time when we are facing an enormous deficit."

Sixteen states have already banned the death penalty, with Illinois being the most recent. However, local legislatures and prosecutors don't think House Bill 160 will pick up enough steam.

Lake County Prosecutor Charles E. Coulson said he strongly opposes the bill.  "There are certain cases where the death penalty is justified," he said, such as defendants who killed police officers or committed serious pre-meditated murder.  Coulson agrees that the justice system could be tweaked in an effort to save the state money.  "Unfortunately, the justice system is broken when it comes to the death penalty," he said.  "It defies all common sense. It can take up to 15 to 20 years of repetitive appeals while delaying the process.

"The death penalty should be carried out within a reasonable amount of time, not 15 to 20 years of sitting in the bottom of piles of federal court judges' chambers waiting for review while no action is being taken for years at a time."  The process could be fixed by fixing the justice system, where judges only have a certain amount of time to review cases as opposed to letting it sit or limit the amount of appeals, Coulson said.

In the past 20 years, Lake County has sentenced only two people to death, and Coulson said that since Ohio changed its law a few years ago so juries can now recommend life without the possibility of parole, the use of the death penalty has been greatly reduced. "Many cases are now handled that way," he said. "Jurors are more likely to sentence someone to life without possibility of parole rather than (the) death penalty."...

State Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chester Township, and chairman of the Senate of Criminal Justice Committee, said he thinks the bill has no chance of passing.  "I'm a proponent of the death penalty," he said. "If a jury finds a death penalty is appropriate then I believe that penalty should be administered."

If the state wants to save money, the appeals process should be shortened to not waste money through endless legal action, he said.  "At some point, you can't put a price on justice.  You just have to do what's right for the public," he said....

Coulson said in his 37 years of prosecuting, capital punishment has come up multiple times. "We go in waves where we want to eliminate it, then we want to bring it back," he said. "It's like the pendulum swinging back and forth."