Ohio hasn't executed anyone on death row since 2018. Here's where the state's cases stand
While it remains unlikely executions will resume in Ohio with Gov. Mike DeWine in office, the death penalty has received new attention following Tuesday's execution of Marcellus Williams in Missouri.
Williams was executed by order of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson after a request for a stay was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court — despite pleas from advocates to spare the defendant, including the original prosecutor in his case, because he may have been innocent.
Ohio reinstated the death penalty in 1981. There are currently 113 men and one woman on Ohio's death row. Many of the males on death row are held at the Ross Correctional Institution. Women on death row are held at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.
Of those 114 inmates, eight are from Franklin County.
There are currently 30 executions scheduled in Ohio, beginning in February 2025, including two inmates from Franklin County.
However, DeWine declared an unofficial moratorium on executions in Ohio in 2020, making it unlikely that any executions scheduled for 2025 or 2026 will take place while DeWine remains in office.
How do executions work in Ohio?
Ohio's death house, where executions take place, is located at the state's Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.
Ohio has not executed anyone since July 2018. Like other states, Ohio executes people through lethal injection with a three-drug cocktail. The companies that manufacture the drugs involved in that cocktail have stopped selling them to states for use in executions, pausing executions in many states.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who is expected to run for governor in 2026, has proposed using nitrogen hypoxia as was used earlier this year in Alabama as a method for executions here so they would resume.
How can you get the death penalty in Ohio?
Ohio's death penalty laws only allow for executions to be imposed in situations when a defendant is charged with aggravated murder — the most serious crime under Ohio law — and even then, only under certain circumstances. Those circumstances fall into seven categories:
Killing a child under the age of 13, either with prior calculation or design, or as the principal offender.
Killing a police officer while they were on duty or because they were a police officer.
Assassination of an elected official.
A killing for hire.
Killing two or more people.
Killing someone while trying to escape being caught, a trial or punishment.
Killing someone while in custody at a jail or prison or while at-large after escaping.
Killing someone while committing a kidnapping, aggravated robbery or burglary, rape or aggravated arson.
Killing a witness to a crime with the intention of keeping them from testifying or as retaliation for testifying.
Acts of terrorism.
A jury tasked with deciding whether a defendant should get a death sentence has to be unanimous in their decision in Ohio.
Franklin County has not had a death penalty case filed since 2019, when Kristofer Garrett was charged in the stabbing deaths of his ex-girlfriend and their 4-year-old daughter. Garrett received a death sentence and is only the second person since 2010 to receive a death sentence in Franklin County.
Other Franklin County cases where the death penalty has been sought, but a jury decided not to recommend it, include Brian Golsby, Quentin Smith and Anthony Pardon.
Who is on death row from Franklin County?
Here are the Franklin County inmates currently on Ohio's death row:
Robert Bethel, 54
In 2003, Bethel received a death sentence after being convicted in the June 26, 1996, deaths of 18-year-old James Reynolds and his girlfriend, 14-year-old Shannon Hawks.
According to court records, Bethel, a member of the South Side Mafia Crips gang, suspected Reynolds was going to testify against a fellow gang member. Bethel and another man lured Reynolds and Hawks to a field. Hawks was shot four times and Reynolds was shot 10 times, court records say. The other man was not eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 years old at the time of the shooting. He received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for 63 years. Bethel's case is still working its way through the appeals process.
James Conway, 46
In 2003, Conway received two separate death sentences for separate homicides that took place in 2001 and 2002.
In September 2001, Conway fatally stabbed 21-year-old Andrew Dotson in Prairie Township because Conway was worried Dotson would tell police about Conway's involvement in another shooting, according to court records. Conway had initially asked two other people to carry out the shooting, but when they were unable, they brought Dotson to Conway, who took Dotson to a field and stabbed him in the chest with a pickax. Court records say Conway later attempted to hire an inmate to kill one of the two people who he had initially asked to kill Dotson.
In January 2002, Conway shot 25-year-old Jason Gervais and attempted to kill another man outside a strip club. Court records say Conway's brother had accused the surviving victim of stabbing him, prompting Conway to retrieve a firearm from his car and open fire.
Court records say Conway later told a cellmate he had no remorse for killing Gervais. Conway's cases are still under appeal.
Kristofer Garrett, 31
Garrett received a death sentence in September 2019, the most recent inmate from Franklin County to receive the punishment.
On Jan. 5, 2018, Columbus police found Garrett's ex-girlfriend, 34-year-old Nicole Duckson, and the pair's 4-year-old daughter, Kristina Duckson, stabbed in the backyard of Duckson's home. Duckson had been stabbed more than 40 times because of a dispute over child support, court records say. Kristina had been stabbed more than 30 times because she had witnessed Garrett kill her mother. Garrett told police, according to court records, he had chased Kristina down after she had run away screaming.
Garrett's case is currently under appeal.
Warren Henness, 60
A jury recommended a death sentence for Henness in 1994 for the fatal March 1992 shooting of 51-year-old Richard Myers.
Court records say Myers had been trying to help Henness find drug counseling and treatment for a family member of Henness. After Myers picked him up on the day of the murder, Henness shot Myers five times and stole his car, credit cards and checks, using money from the robbery to buy drugs.
Henness has had several execution dates scheduled, including the most recent date of Dec. 17, 2024, however Gov. Mike DeWine issued him a reprieve. Henness is now scheduled to be executed on Dec. 15, 2027.
Kareem Jackson, 50
Jackson received a death sentence in 1998 for the March 25, 1997, double murder of Antonio Hunter, 19, and Terrance Walker, 23, at a Clinton Township apartment.
Court records say Jackson had gone to rob the men during a drug deal. The robbery netted Jackson and the others involved $45, a small amount of marijuana and a cellphone. According to court records, Jackson put a couch cushion over the men's heads and shot them because they recognized him. Three codefendants in Jackson's case have all been released from prison after serving 10- to 15-year sentences for their involvement.
Jackson is currently set to be executed in December 2025. He has had execution dates scheduled previously, but has been issued reprieves, most recently in 2022.
Jonathan Monroe, 51
Monroe received a death sentence in 2002 for the April 1996 killings of 31-year-old Travinna Simmons and 33-year-old Deccarla Quincy.
Court records say Monroe and an accomplice went to Quincy's apartment because of a belief that Quincy had access to large amounts of drugs and money. Monroe forced the accomplice to tie up the two women and tortured them before cutting their throats and shooting them in the head.
Monroe's case is currently under appeal. He is also serving a life sentence for an unrelated 1999 killing.
Jason Robb, 57
Robb received a death sentence in 1995 for his role in a riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Robb's case was moved to Franklin County because of the potential conflict in Scioto County.
In 1993, a group of inmates had rioted at the Lucasville prison. During the riot, Robb, who led the prison's Aryan Brotherhood gang, and two other inmates ordered other inmates to strangle 40-year-old state prison guard Robert Vallandingham, according to court records. Six days later, Robb arranged for inmates to stab, choke and beat 31-year-old fellow inmate David Sommers to death, court records say.
Robb had been serving a prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter at the time of the riot. Four other inmates involved in the deaths received the death penalty.
The cases of all five men remain under appeal.
Warren Waddy, 70
Waddy received a death sentence in 1987, several years after the 1981 reinstatement of Ohio's death penalty.
On July 18, 1986, Waddy went to 22-year-old Paula Mason's apartment, broke inside, tied her up and beat her before strangling her with a jump rope. Court records say Waddy then stole Mason's credit cards and vehicle. He was also convicted of several other rapes and burglaries.
Waddy's case is under appeal.
Has anyone from Franklin County been executed?
Two defendants from Franklin County have been executed since the state reinstated the death penalty.
In February 2004, John Roe was executed for the October 1984 murder of 21-year-old Donette Crawford. According to court records, Roe kidnapped Crawford from her car, shot her in the head and then stole her car and money. Roe told police where to find Crawford's body after his arrest. He was sentenced to death in 1985.
In March 2004, William Wickline was executed for the August 1982 double murder of 28-year-old Christopher Lerch and his wife, 24-year-old Peggy Lerch. Court records say Wickline had been arguing with Christopher Lerch over a debt. Wickline cut his throat and then strangled Lerch's wife with a rope before dismembering them and disposing of their bodies in dumpsters around Columbus.
Three other inmates who were scheduled to be executed died while in prison.
Can a death sentence go away in Ohio?
A death sentence could be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole or another lesser sentence as part of the appeals process.
Ohio also has a clemency board that reviews cases prior to execution and makes recommendations to the governor. This process can also result in a commutation.
Seven Ohio inmates who had initially received a death sentence have since had their sentences lessened through appeals.
This happened most recently in 2023 when Caron Montgomery, who had been convicted of killing three people in 2010 in Columbus, had a resentencing hearing where he received a sentence of life with no possibility of parole. Attorneys for Montgomery successfully argued he was mentally ill and thus unable to be sentenced to death.
Montgomery had pleaded guilty in 2012 to the November 2010 stabbing deaths of his ex-girlfriend, 31-year-old Tia Hendricks, their 2-year-old son Tyron Hendricks, and her 10-year-old daughter Tahlia Hendricks.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: A look at Ohio's death row shows 8 inmates from Franklin County
