Bill > SB133

This bill abolishes the death penalty in Ohio and makes several related changes to the state's criminal justice system. Here's a summary of the key provisions: The bill eliminates the death penalty as a sentencing option for criminal offenses. Specifically, it removes all references to capital punishment from Ohio's criminal statutes and replaces death sentences with life imprisonment without parole. For offenders who were previously sentenced to death, the bill ensures they will be resentenced to life imprisonment without parole, and they retain their existing rights to appeals and postconviction remedies. The legislation also modifies several related aspects of Ohio's criminal justice system: 1. It changes jury selection rules, reducing the number of peremptory challenges in most criminal cases. 2. It removes specific provisions related to capital case proceedings, such as special rules for capital case attorneys and capital case hearings. 3. It updates various statutory references that previously mentioned death sentences, replacing them with references to life imprisonment. 4. It maintains existing provisions for serious violent and sexual offenses, ensuring that offenders convicted of such crimes can still receive lengthy prison terms or life sentences. The bill includes transitional provisions to handle existing death penalty cases, ensuring that offenders currently on death row will be resentenced to life imprisonment without parole. It also preserves their existing legal rights to appeals and postconviction proceedings. Additionally, the legislation repeals numerous sections of Ohio Revised Code that were specifically related to capital punishment, streamlining the state's criminal sentencing framework. The bill represents a significant reform of Ohio's criminal sentencing system, effectively eliminating the death penalty while maintaining strong penalties for the most serious criminal offenses.

Justice

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb133