DeWine stays three more executions

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Governor Mike DeWine issued the following reprieves of execution on Friday:

• Gerald Hand, who was scheduled to be executed on June 17, 2026.  The new date of execution has been moved to April 18, 2029. Hand has been on death row since 2003.
• Danny Lee Hill, who was scheduled to be executed on July 22, 2026.  The new date of execution has been moved to July 18, 2029. Hill has been on death row since 1986.
• Cleveland R. Jackson, who was scheduled to be executed on July 15, 2026.  The new date of execution has been moved to June 13, 2029. Jackson has been on death row since 2002.

As he has done with a number of previous reprieves, DeWine blamed ongoing problems involving the willingness of pharmaceutical suppliers to provide drugs to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), pursuant to DRC protocol, without endangering other Ohioans. Other states have continued carrying out death sentences via lethel injection, while others have changed methods, including the use of a firing squad or nitrogen gas.

Since DeWine took office in 2019, there have been no executions in Ohio.