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Ohio Governor Calls for End to Racially Skewed Death Penalty

6/22/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Marshall Project data shows the U.S. death-penalty system is racially skewed, costly, has executed fewer than one-fifth of over 9,000 sentences since 1976, and prompted Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to urge abolition.
Black defendants are overrepresented on death rows, and outcomes vary more by jurisdiction than by the crime.
Average death-row tenure is 27 years, with over a quarter of ~2,000 inmates serving more than 30 years, raising taxpayer costs.

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Story summary

Marshall Project data shows the U.S. death-penalty system is racially skewed, costly, has executed fewer than one-fifth of over 9,000 sentences since 1976, and prompted Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to urge abolition.
Black defendants are overrepresented on death rows, and outcomes vary more by jurisdiction than by the crime.
Average death-row tenure is 27 years, with over a quarter of ~2,000 inmates serving more than 30 years, raising taxpayer costs.