COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday postponed four additional executions in keeping with his contention that lethal injection is no longer an option in Ohio because of the ongoing lack of drugs with which to put inmates to death.
DeWine, a Republican, said last year that lawmakers must choose a different method of capital punishment before any inmates can be put to death. His actions Friday:
— Moved the execution date of Warren Henness, sentenced out of Franklin County for the 1992 shooting death of Richard Myers, from Jan. 12, 2022, to Dec. 17, 2024.
— Moved the execution date of Stanley Adams, sentenced out of Trumbull County for the 1999 beating death of Esther Cook and the rape and strangulation death of her daughter, Ashley Cook, from Feb. 16, 2022 to Feb. 19, 2025.
— Moved the execution date of John Drummond, sentenced out of Mahoning County for the 2003 shooting death of 3-month-old Jiyen Dent Jr., from April 21, 2022, to April 16, 2025.
— Moved the execution date of James Hanna, sentenced out of Warren County for the 1997 stabbing death of his prison cellmate, Peter Copas, from May 18, 2022, to May 14, 2025.
Despite the unofficial moratorium, the Ohio Supreme Court recently set new execution dates for two inmates, both in 2025.
The state’s last execution was July 18, 2018, when Ohio put to death Robert Van Hook for killing David Self in Cincinnati in 1985.
