Republican Gov. Mike DeWine wants Ohio to abolish the death penalty PBS NewsHour - The Latest By: Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press · Patrick Aftoora Orsagos, Associated Press 16 June 2026 at 19:04 Gov. Mike DeWine says he believes Ohio should abolish the death penalty. He said data shows the death penalty is not serving as a deterrent to violent crime, as the law he helped write had intended.