ABA Report Finds Numerous Serious Flaws In Ohio's Capital Punishment System / Calls for Governor to Declare Moratorium Pending Death Penalty Study

As part of the American Bar Association's series of comprehensive studies of several states' death penalty systems, the ABA's Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report was released today, finding numerous serious flaws in the implementation of Ohio's system of capital punishment - and calling on Governor Strickland to halt executions pending the outcome of a study to determine if the system can be corrected.  A breakdown of the report - by far the most comprehensive and scientific look at how Ohio's death penalty is working - is on the ABA website here, and as follows... 

Major sections of the report:

• Executive Summary of the Ohio Death Penalty Report (42-page pdf)
• Full Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report (495-page pdf)
• Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Guide (88-page Word doc.)
• Ohio Death Penalty Assesment Team Biographies (4-page Word doc.)
• Fact Sheet: Problems with Ohio's Death Penalty System and Recommendations for Reform (2-page Word doc.)
• Compliance Charts: Ohio's Compliance with ABA Recommendations (18-page Word doc.)
• Frequently Asked Questions [about ABA Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project] (8-page Word doc.)

Excerpt from Executive Summary (pp. 4-8):
The Team has concluded that the State of Ohio fails to comply or is only in partial compliance with many of these recommendations and that many of these shortcomings are substantial. More specifically, the Team is convinced that there is a need to improve the fairness and accuracy in Ohio’s death penalty system.

…Despite the best efforts of a multitude of principled and thoughtful actors who play roles in the criminal justice process in the State of Ohio, our research establishes that at this point in time, the State of Ohio cannot ensure that fairness and accuracy are the hallmark of every case in which the death penalty is sought or imposed. Basic notions of fairness require that all participants in the criminal justice system ensure that the ultimate penalty of death is reserved for only the very worst offenses and defendants. It is therefore the conclusion of the members of the Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team that the State of Ohio should impose a temporary suspension of executions until such time as the State is able to appropriately address the issues and recommendations throughout this Report, and in particular the Executive Summary. ...

Update:   Andrew Welsh-Huggins has this early AP coverage of today's report, entitled "Bar association calls for Ohio to suspend death penalty system."  Jim Provance has this coverage on the Toledo Blade website, entitled "American Bar Association calls for Ohio to cease executions until it fixes problems."

AP excerpt:
Ohio should temporarily suspend executions to allow a review of the state's capital punishment system because of several flaws, including racial and geographic imbalances, a team of lawyers concluded in a study to be released Monday.

Too many defendants don't get adequate legal help and ways to guard death row inmates' rights are missing from the system, such as failing to require that all DNA evidence from a case is preserved while an offender is on death row, according to a 30-month review of Ohio's death penalty system by the American Bar Association.

The ABA team called on Gov. Ted Strickland to halt executions to allow a review of the system.

"The state fails to provide adequate measures to protect defendants," ABA President William Neukom said in a statement. "Nobody should be executed until the problems identified by these experts are addressed, and we urge a temporary halt to executions until fairness and accuracy are assured."

Among other findings, the ABA concluded:

_The state's system is flawed by racial disparities in death penalty sentencing, including a greater likelihood of defendants being sentenced to death if a victim is white.

_There are major differences in how counties sentence death row cases, for example, a defendant in Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, is far more likely to receive a death sentence than a defendant in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland.

_Death sentences are being imposed and carried out on people with severe mental disabilities.

_The state's appeals system does not allow for a meaningful comparison of cases to determine if a defendant deserves a death sentence based on other similar cases.

Strickland, a Democrat and death penalty supporter, has allowed two executions to proceed since taking office in January. A message was left seeking comment Monday morning. ...