COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – There is another push at the Ohio Statehouse to move legislation forward to abolish the death penalty. 

“This is a serious issue and one we need to be very serious about and its implications,” Senator Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus) said. 

The conversation to repeal the death penalty has been ongoing since 2011, at least. But now there are two bi-partisan bills to do so. House Bill 259 and Senate Bill 101 are both bipartisan efforts to abolish the death penalty 

SB 101 was introduced last April, since then, it has only had two hearings and none this year. House Bill 259 was introduced last September; it has also only had two hearings and none since last year. Now — members of the Ohio Black Legislative Caucus (OLBC) are saying enough is enough. 

“In Ohio, a black defendant accused of harming a white victim is more likely to be sentenced to death,” Representative Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland) said. “This showcases a deep systemic racial bias in our justice system, from coerced confessions to unequal representation in jury pools.” 

Supporters of abolishing the death penalty argue that the use of executions have caused more harm than good, including the death row imprisonment of 11 Ohioans who were later exonerated of their crimes. 

“It’s totally unconscionable to continue to think that an individual judged by a jury of his peers, and he was found guilty when all and all there was evidence withheld and bias attacks,” Representative Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) said. 

Gov. Mike DeWine has not ordered and has said he does not anticipate any inmate to be executed while he is governor. 

“When a new governor comes, he may have a different inclination,” Senator Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) said. “So that’s the reason we need permanent guidance in the law and not rely on who’s elected to office.” 

But some of the state’s top officials, like Attorney General Dave Yost, support the death penalty, and said it is necessary for the most heinous crimes. Yost supports a Republican led effort, House Bill 392, to allow the use of nitrogen hypoxia for executions in order to kick start the state’s capital punishment system.

NBC4 asked the Speaker of the Ohio House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) whether he would be more inclined to bring House Bill 259 (to abolish the death penalty) or House Bill 392 (to authorize the use of nitrogen gas to execute death row inmates), to the House floor, should they get a committee vote. 

“This is the great thing about the committee process is you’re able to vet the bills and the ideas and see where members are as they get further along,” Stephens said. “I’m personally pro-death penalty. I think it’s something that we’ve had a lot of discussion about throughout the state and we will continue to have that.” 

“It’s certainly a worry of mind that the efforts may not go anywhere but that doesn’t necessarily mean we are going to stop the fight and stop the work that we’re doing,” Upchurch said. “The bigger fight is working to make the criminal justice system work for everyone.”