共和党州长德温敦促俄亥俄州废除死刑,称其已不再具有威慑作用


2026年6月17日 美国东部时间凌晨2:16 / 福克斯新闻网

“我当初投票支持死刑的道德依据已经不复存在了,”这位州长说道

撰稿:兰登·米恩 福克斯新闻网

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俄亥俄州州长、共和党人迈克·德温周二宣布支持在该州废除死刑,这是他时隔45年后改变对这项政策的态度——他曾在45年前作为议员参与起草法案,恢复了俄亥俄州的死刑制度。

德温在州长任内多次推迟处决,他援引数据表明死刑并不能起到威慑暴力犯罪的作用。

“在我看来,国家要剥夺一个人的生命,必须有证据表明这样做有助于保护公众,即这种处决的威胁能够阻止他人犯下谋杀罪,”德温在新闻发布会上说道。

“我不认为如今这个论点站得住脚,也不认为未来我用来支撑这一观点的事实会发生任何改变,”他说。“因此,我认为俄亥俄州应当废除死刑。”

得州议员提议法案废除该州死刑:“我认为舆论正在转变”

俄亥俄州州长迈克·德温宣布支持在本州废除死刑。(美联社照片/帕特里克·阿夫图拉-奥萨戈斯)

在阐述理由时,德温展示了图表,显示法院判处的死刑判决数量和实际处决数量都在下降。数据还显示,死囚在等待法律上诉的过程中,等待时间长得惊人。

这位州长表示,被判处死刑的杀人犯被处决的可能性越来越低,因为他们有时会在被处决前死于自然原因或自杀。

“即便凶手被抓获、起诉、定罪并判处死刑,他们最终仍有可能不会被处决,”他说。

“总而言之,死刑制度实施的每十年,杀人犯被处决的几率就越来越渺茫,”他补充道。

他表示,俄亥俄州最近被处决的10名死囚在死囚区的关押时间在14年到32年之间。自1981年德温参与起草法案恢复死刑以来,共有56名被判处死刑的囚犯被处决,另有41名囚犯在死囚区死于自然原因或自杀。另有89起死刑判决因“司法行动”(如法律程序错误)被推翻。

德温强调,处决延迟给受害者家属带来了多年的痛苦,也对负责处决工作的州政府雇员的心理健康造成了影响。

患痴呆症的犹他州死囚在处决暂停3个月后自然死亡

这位州长援引数据表明死刑并不能起到威慑暴力犯罪的作用。(美联社照片/苏·奥罗克,资料图)

“我不再认为死刑能威慑谋杀,”德温说。“我当初投票支持死刑的道德依据已经不复存在了。”

这位州长将在2026年选举中因任期限制无法寻求连任,他表示,在拥有50年死刑相关议题的从政经历后,他认为有必要现在公开表态——他的经历包括担任格林县检察官、美国众议员、参议员以及俄亥俄州总检察长。

不过他表示,他对死刑的明确反对态度是在过去一年才坚定下来的。

德温敦促州议会废除死刑,或将该问题交由州民投票决定,但共和党众议院议长马特·赫夫曼曾表示他会反对这项努力。其他死刑支持者则认为,俄亥俄州多年来的处决暂停剥夺了受害者家属的正义,也削弱了死刑判决的威慑效果。

德温上任七年来从未批准过任何一次处决,他多次以制药供应商不愿提供致命注射所用药物为由推迟处决。去年,唐纳德·特朗普总统下令美国司法部协助各州解决这一问题。2025年1月,唐纳德·特朗普总统再次下令美国司法部协助各州解决这一问题。

这位州长表示,他预计在剩余任期内不会再有任何处决执行。根据俄亥俄州改造和矫正部门的数据,推迟处决导致未来四年内有30名囚犯等待处决。自2018年7月18日德温上任以来,该州从未处决过任何囚犯。

这位州长敦促州议会废除死刑,或将该问题交由州民投票决定。(贾希·奇克温迪奥/《华盛顿邮报》 via 盖蒂图片社)

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“保护公众最重要的方式是将暴力罪犯监禁起来,让他们远离社会,”德温说。“这是一种经过验证的拯救生命、保护公民的方式。我们的资金和精力应该更好地用于防止这些屡犯暴力罪的罪犯重返社会。”

根据死刑信息中心的数据,目前全美有27个州保留死刑,23个州和华盛顿特区已废除死刑。

自2019年以来,包括该年在内,共有三个州废除了死刑,另有五个州目前批准使用氮气窒息作为处决方式,这一做法引发了围绕致命注射协议的持续争议。

在联邦层面,特朗普曾推动扩大死刑执行范围。在他的第一任期内,共执行了13起联邦处决,超过了现代历史上任何一位总统。

本文由美联社协助报道。

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6360664094112

GOP Gov DeWine urges Ohio to abolish the death penalty, says it is no longer a deterrent

June 17, 2026 2:16am EDT / Fox News

‘The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists,’ the governor said

By Landon Mion Fox News

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, on Tuesday announced support for abolishing capital punishment in his state, reaffirming his change of heart on the policy he helped write as a legislator 45 years ago to reinstate the death penalty in Ohio.

DeWine, who has repeatedly postponed executions during his time as governor, pointed to data showing that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime.

“For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said at a news conference.

“I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change,” he said. “Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.”

TEXAS LAWMAKER PROPOSES BILL TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY IN LONE STAR STATE: ‘I THINK SENTIMENT IS CHANGING’

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced support for abolishing capital punishment in his state.(AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

As he made his case, DeWine brought out charts and graphs showing the decline in both the number of death sentences handed down by courts and the quantity of executions being carried out. The data also showed the exceedingly long wait times as legal appeals play out for inmates on death row.

The governor said condemned murderers are increasingly unlikely to be executed, as they sometimes die by natural causes or by suicide before they can be executed.

“Even if the murderer is caught, indicted, convicted and sentenced to death, the odds are still pretty good they’re not going to be executed,” he said.

“In summary, each decade that the death penalty has been in effect, the chances of a murderer getting executed get more and more and more remote,” he added.

The last 10 people to be executed in Ohio had been on death row between 14 and 32 years, he said. Since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1981 under a law co-written by DeWine, 56 people who received the death sentence have been executed and 41 died by natural causes or suicide while on death row. Another 89 death sentences were overturned due to “judicial action” such as legal errors.

DeWine emphasized the years of pain for victims’ loved ones due to the delays and the impact on the mental health of state employees who work on execution teams.

UTAH DEATH ROW INMATE WITH DEMENTIA DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES 3 MONTHS AFTER EXECUTION WAS HALTED

The governor cited data showing that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime.(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

“I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder,” DeWine said. “The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists.”

The governor, who is term-limited and cannot seek another term in the 2026 election, said he felt compelled to share his thoughts now after 50 years of experience with the death penalty issue, including as a Greene County prosecutor, a member of the U.S. House and Senate and as Ohio’s attorney general.

However, he said his outright opposition to the death penalty has become solidified in the past year.

DeWine urged the legislature to abolish the death penalty or to leave it up to state residents to vote on the issue, although Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman has said he would oppose such an effort. Other supporters of capital punishment have argued that Ohio’s yearslong execution pause has denied justice to victims’ families and weakened the deterrent effect of death sentences.

DeWine has not authorized an execution since taking office seven years ago, citing, on numerous occasions, pharmaceutical suppliers’ unwillingness to provide the drugs used in lethal injections. Last year, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states to resolve that issue. In January 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states resolve that issue.

The governor has said he expects no more executions during the remainder of his term. Delaying executions has left Ohio with 30 scheduled over the next four years, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The state has not put an inmate to death since July 18, 2018, before DeWine took office.

The governor urged the legislature to abolish the death penalty or to leave it up to state residents to vote on the issue.(Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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“The most important way to protect the public is to lock up violent criminals and to keep them out of society,” DeWine said. “That is a proven way of saving lives and protecting our citizens. Our money and energies are much better spent focusing on keeping these repeat violent offenders out of society.”

Currently, 27 states allow the death penalty while 23 states and Washington, D.C., do not, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Since 2019, including that year, three states have abolished capital punishment, while five states now authorize nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method amid ongoing controversy over lethal injection protocols.

At the federal level, Trump has pushed to expand executions. During his first term, 13 federal executions were carried out, which was more than any president in modern history.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6360664094112

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