Ohio House bill would end death penalty for killers with 'serious mental illness'
A bill working its way through the state legislature seeks to prevent a death sentence for killers with a “serious mental illness.”
House Bill 136, which has bipartisan support, aims to prevent a death sentence in cases of aggravated murder in which the offender is deemed by professionals to have had a serious mental illness at the time of the offense.
Rep. Brett Hudson Hillyer, a Uhrichsville Republican and the bill’s primary sponsor, testified last month before the House Criminal Justice Committee, saying the death penalty should be reserved for only the worst offenders.
“Ohioans may be split on the issue of legality concerning the death penalty,” he said, “but most will concede executing an individual found to be suffering from a serious mental illness at the time of the crime is neither fair nor just, and this punishment should be reserved for those who have intentionally done.”
Read more: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190519/ohio-house-bill-would-end-death-penalty-for-killers-with-serious-mental-illness