Antonio introduces legislation to abolish the death

penalty in Ohio
Last month, I introduced House Bill (HB) 389, legislation to abolish the death penalty and
replace it with a life sentence without parole. Recently, this legislation was referred to the
Houses Criminal Justice Committee. Earlier this General Assembly, I also introduced HB 81
with Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati). This legislation would prohibit a death sentence if the
person convicted has a serious mental illness at the time of the offense.

I believe that the death penalty is a punishment that not only fails to deter violent
crime, but also is administered unfairly, with disparities across economical and racial
lines. In my opinion, our best move for death penalty reform in Ohio is to abolish the
use of capital punishment and replace it with a sentence of life without parole. I truly
believe Ohioans taxpayer dollars would be better spent pursuing constructive, positive policies that
enhance the quality of life in our communities.

In addition to the aforementioned reasons to end Ohios death penalty, death penalty processes generates
significant costs to taxpayers, and officials have recently experienced difficulty obtaining the drugs required for
lethal injection.1 Twenty states and the District of Columbia have recognized this and eliminated the death
penalty.2

Although the United States is a first-world country, we are one of 58 countries3 to retain the death penalty, along
with China, Iran, Vietnam and Cuba. Additionally, America is the only western nation and member of NATO that
still uses the death penalty. According to the Death Penalty 1 http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/data/news/death-penalty-debate/
Information Center, nine people have been freed from Ohios death
row while awaiting their execution date.4 2 https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/states-and-without-death-penalty

3 https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-ii-history-death-penalty#intabol

4 https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state_by_state

Engaging your legislature and the committee process

The formal votes during House sessions may give the
impression that every vote has been decided in ad-
vance. This is actually the case because in-depth ex-
amination of legislation takes place
in committee hearings.
Following a bill's introduction, it is
assigned to one of the Houses 17
standing committees. During com-
mittee meetings, bills are debated
and amended and members of the
general public are given the oppor-
tunity to contribute testimonies.
Witnesses are not under oath, as in
a courtroom, but they must register
with the committee chairperson at the beginning of
the hearing.
State representatives want to hear the views of Ohio-
ans as they consider legislation. Weekly committee
schedules are posted on the web at http://
www.ohiohouse.gov/committee/standing-committees
and in the House Clerk's office.
The House Speaker determines the membership and
number of House standing committees. Appointments
for committee chairs, vice chairs, and ranking minori-
ty members are made at the begin-
ning of each new General Assem-
bly, but changes and substitutions
can always be made at the House
Speakers discretion.
You should know that, as an Ohio-
an, you have the right and op-
portunity to present testimony
on a bill you favor or oppose. If
you should decide to visit the
Statehouse to offer your views on a
particular bill, be sure to contact me so that I can as-
sist in making your time here as enjoyable and pro-
ductive as possible.
For more information about legislation from the past
or bills currently pending before the House, visit the
Ohio General Assembly's website at
www.legislature.state.oh.us/ or call the legislative toll
-free hotline at 1-800-282-0253.