Cincinnati, OH—January 24, 2014. One week after the execution of Dennis McGuire, attorneys representing the McGuire family are seeking injunctive relief in federal court. The lawsuit aims to prevent the state of Ohio from carrying out future executions.
The execution of Dennis McGuire of Preble County on January 16, 2014 sparked a national debate that called into question the usefulness and purpose of the death penalty.
“This latest challenge is another example of why Ohioans continue to lose confidence in the death penalty system,” said Kevin Werner, Executive Director of Ohioans to Stop Executions. “No one disputes the death penalty is broken. The question we should be asking our leaders is: should Ohio continue to experiment with executions while so much uncertainty and concern exists? We think the answer is no. We think it’s time to rethink what we’re doing.”
Ohioans to Stop Executions called on Governor Kasich to issue a moratorium on executions.
“One option, given what’s happened here, is to stop executions until the Supreme Court Death Penalty Task Force recommendations are implemented. Another option is much simpler and that is to get rid of death penalty altogether,” Werner added.
Since the execution of Dennis McGuire, nearly 500 letters were sent to Governor Kasich urging a moratorium on executions.