Mike DeWine, who helped draft Ohio’s 1981 death penalty law as a state senator, stated on Tuesday that he no longer believes capital punishment serves as a deterrent to murder and lacks moral justification. The 79-year-old governor has delayed executions throughout his tenure, during which the average time from sentencing to execution in the state’s last ten cases reached 21 years. The 1981 statute remains in effect after earlier court rulings.