Valley prosecutor says only voters should decide future of death penalty
A long-time prosecuting attorney from the Valley will be testifying against a bill to repeal Ohio’s death penalty when a state House Committee considers the measure in Columbus on Wednesday.
Assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor Chris Becker is expected to say that only the voters of Ohio should be allowed to eliminate the death penalty when he addresses the House Criminal Justice Committee as it reviews House Bill 183.
The bill was introduced in February by two State Representatives, Republican Jean Schmidt and Democrat Adam Miller, just three months after Governor Mike DeWine declared an unofficial moratorium on executions, saying lethal injection is no longer an option for Ohio executions.
In a transcript of his planned testimony, Prosecutor Becker plans to speak on behalf of his boss, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins.
Becker is highly critical of state legislative actions over the past 30 years, saying lawmakers have “eroded and shrunk the penalties for the worst offenders,” citing among other examples, measures that reduced penalties for felons who use weapons to commit crimes and another that reduces prison time for parole violators.
Becker singled out a recently enacted law that would allow parole for juveniles convicted of murder.
“Now this body is considering eliminating the death penalty and cow-towing to the special interests,” said Becker. “The Ohio Legislature should be actively seeking ways to implement and use the death penalty in the State of Ohio on the most heinous of criminals sitting on our death row like Donna Roberts, Nathaniel Jackson, Danny Lee Hill, and others.”
Roberts and Jackson were sentenced to death for murdering Roberts’ husband in 2001, but to this date remain in prison.
Danny Lee Hill received a death sentence for the 1985 rape, torture, and murder of 12-year-old Warren boy scout Raymond Fife. In August, a federal appellate court upheld Hill’s sentence.
“It is 2021. It is time to end the death penalty,” said HB 183 co-sponsor Adam Miller when he introduced the measure. “Apart from moral, ethical, and spiritual reasons to oppose capital punishment, the carrying out of executions raises significant concerns on who is sentenced to death and how that sentence is carried out. It is long past time Ohio joins the global community in ending the death penalty.”
Citing a record-breaking murder rate in Warren last year, Becker and Watkins disagree with Miller, saying the bill is unneeded and unwanted by Ohioans.
“To those that say Capital Punishment is not a deterrent it is not meant to be a deterrent. Neither are the Rape, Robbery, or Burglary statutes. Those laws are intended to punish the violent and destructive members of our society,” said Becker. “The Death Penalty is the ultimate penalty for the ultimate crime and should only be repealed by a vote of the electorate of the State of Ohio.”