In 1981, former Ohio State Reps. John Begala and Pete Crossland were among the minority who voted against the death penalty. Now, engineers of the law are calling for its abolition.
Crossland and Begala represented Summit and Portage counties, respectively, when Ohio reenacted the death penalty 44 years ago. In October, they joined 27 former Ohio lawmakers who signed a letter backing Senate Bill 133, which, if passed, would abolish the state’s death penalty.
The proposed legislation has gained bipartisan support from officials concerned with the death penalty’s cost, inequities and what the letter called “irrevocable” consequences. For some, the moment marks a notable shift in perspective among former proponents of capital punishment. For those like Begala, it’s a moment of unison against what he has long believed to be a “barbaric” practice…