YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro was asked for her reaction to two letters Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins sent urging federal and state officials to help restore Ohio’s ability to carry out executions, as the state faces renewed legislative efforts to abolish the death penalty.

Watkins, an advocate for capital punishment, has called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to assist in overcoming legal and logistical hurdles to resume executions, which have been stalled for years.

Ohio has not carried out an execution since 2018, when concerns over the state’s lethal injection protocol led to a de facto moratorium.

In letters sent Feb. 12, Watkins praised President Donald Trump’s recent executive order lifting the federal moratorium on the death penalty and thanked Bondi for her efforts to

revive federal executions.

He also urged Yost to collaborate with the governor’s office to establish a clear protocol for carrying out executions in Ohio, where 11 Mahoning Valley inmates remain on death row.

“We must have a plan of action in Ohio to restore justice and the death penalty for heartless killers, as other states and the federal government are doing,” Watkins said in his letters.

He emphasized the need to provide closure to victims’ families, citing cases like that of Trumbull County serial killer Stanley Adams, who is scheduled for execution in 2028, and Danny Lee Hill, whose execution is set for 2026 pending appeals.

Watkins’ push comes as Ohio lawmakers prepare to reintroduce a bill to abolish the death penalty, a measure that narrowly failed last year.

State Sens. Nikki Antonio and Steven Huffman are leading the effort, which has drawn criticism from Watkins and other prosecutors who argue that capital punishment is a necessary tool for justice.

FEDERAL SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION

President Trump’s executive order, signed Jan. 20, 2025, directed the U.S. Department of Justice to assist states in implementing death sentences.

Bondi’s Feb. 5 memo outlines steps to make sure states have access to the drugs and resources needed to carry out executions. Watkins called the new federal support a critical step toward restoring the death penalty in Ohio.

However, the effort faces significant opposition from advocacy groups and some lawmakers. Sean McCann, a policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, criticized House Bill 72, a controversial proposal that ties death penalty repeal to restrictions on abortion and euthanasia. In a February op-ed, McCann described the bill as a “bait and switch” tactic that distracts from addressing systemic issues with Ohio’s capital punishment system.

“Legislators must listen to voters instead of pushing HB 72, the Death Penalty Repeal Deception Act,” McCann wrote. He argued that most Ohioans now favor replacing the death penalty with life sentences without parole and urged lawmakers to pursue a “clean” repeal bill free from unrelated provisions.

Proponents argue it serves as a deterrent and a form of justice for victims, but critics point to its high costs, racial disparities and the risk of wrongful convictions.

Nonprofit groups such as the Death Penalty Information Center say Ohio’s criminal justice and death penalty system exhibit racial disparities.

In 2014, the Ohio Supreme Court Joint Task force released a report that identified racial disparities in sentencing.

A 2022 Ohio attorney general’s report acknowledged the disparities, but did not provide statistical data, and anti-capital punishment groups argue that reforms recommended to alleviate racial disparities have yet to be implemented.

Other perspectives from opposition target the price point of capital cases.

The AG’s office previously has estimated capital cases can cost between $1 million and $3 million per case, five times more than noncapital cases. Estimates suggest Ohio has spent between $128 million to $384 million.

Since 1976, 11 death row inmates have been exonerated, according to the Ohio Innocence Project, though state reports recognize only one case as an actual wrongful conviction.

MARO’S VIEW

Maro, a former defense attorney who was elected prosecutor Nov. 5, said elected county prosecutors in Ohio have two main functions — prosecuting criminal law violators and handling civil matters for their government clients.

“How I ‘feel’ about the death penalty or any other legal issue is irrelevant,” she stated in an email. “I took an oath, and that oath mandates enforcement of the law. The death penalty is the law in Ohio.

“To the extent that the facts and circumstances of a particular murder qualify for the death penalty under the statutory criteria, the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office will ask the grand jury to consider adding those specifications,” she said.

She added that “it is often said ‘we are a nation of laws, not of men.’ What this means is that the law controls, not what individuals think or feel the law should be. It also means that the State must also follow the law. In the context of implementing the death penalty, the State must be able to lawfully secure the necessary drugs to conduct executions,” she stated.

“The current practice of postponing executions under the auspices of being unable to secure drugs to conduct executions is a bit disingenuous. There are other protocols that can be explored and implemented.”

Maro said there have been “several studies conducted analyzing the death penalty in Ohio. The studies conducted by the American Bar Association and the Ohio Supreme Court concluded Ohio’s death penalty, as implemented, has serious flaws. It is the implementation of the death penalty that was criticized in these studies.”

MAHONING COUNTY DEATH ROW INMATES

* Scott Group, who killed Robert Lozier, the owner of the Downtown Bar in Youngstown and also shot his wife, Sandra, who later testified against Group at his trial. Group forced the couple into the bar restroom and shot them both in the head, but Sandra survived. Group also stole $1,200 in cash, according to Vindicator archives.

* John Drummond Jr., then 26, was sentenced to death for killing 3-month old Jiyen C. Dent Jr., who was sitting in a baby swing in the living room of his family’s Rutledge Drive, East Side home when 10 shots were fired from across the street into the home, according to Vindicator archives. Drummond was convicted at trial.

* Willie Wilks Jr., who killed Ororo Wilkins and attempted to kill Alexander Morales Jr., according to Vindicator archives. Wilkins was sitting on the front porch of a Park Avenue home on the North Side. Morales was holding her baby when Wilks approached the porch and asked where he could find Wilkins’ brother. Morales said that as he turned to go into the house, Wilks shot him. Wilkins tried to grab the baby, and Wilks shot her once in the head, killing her.

* Lance Hundley, who was convicted of killing disabled woman Erica Huff and attempting to kill her mother, Denise Johnson, at their Cleveland Street home on the South Side. Hundley, 50, was living with Huff, 41, who had a child with Hundley’s brother, according to Vindicator archives.

TRUMBULL COUNTY DEATH ROW INMATES

* Danny Lee Hill, who was convicted in 1985 for the rape and murder of 12-year-old Raymond Fife in Warren. Raymond was attacked while riding his bicycle, suffering severe injuries that led to his death two days later. Hill’s execution is scheduled for July 22, 2026, but he has filed another appeal.

* Stanley Adams, who was convicted for the 1999 murders of Esther Cook and her 12-year-old daughter, Ashley, in their Warren home. Adams, familiar with the victims, committed the crimes during a burglary. His execution was initially set for Feb. 19, but has been rescheduled multiple times.

* Sean Carter, who was found guilty of the 1997 rape and murder of his 68-year-old adoptive grandmother, Veva Jo Tichinel, in her Brookfield Township home. Carter’s execution date has been postponed several times because of ongoing appeals.

* Nathaniel Jackson was convicted alongside Donna Roberts for the 2001 murder of her ex-husband, Robert Fingerhut, in Howland. The motive was to collect life insurance proceeds. Jackson’s execution date remains unscheduled because of ongoing legal proceedings.

* Donna Roberts is the only woman on Ohio’s death row, Roberts conspired with Nathaniel Jackson to murder her ex-husband, Robert Fingerhut, in 2001 to obtain life insurance money. Her execution date has not been set, pending further appeals.

* David Martin was sentenced to death for the 2012 murder of Jeremy Cole in Warren during a robbery. Martin also shot and injured a female victim during the incident. His execution date has not been determined because of ongoing appeals.

* Andre Williams was sentenced to death in 1989 for a home invasion that left George Melnick, 65, of Warren, dead, and for the beating, blinding and attempted rape of Melnick’s wife, Katherine.

Watkins has been a vocal advocate for these cases, testifying before legislative committees in 2024 in support of maintaining the death penalty and adding nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative execution method. He has also called on Ohio prosecutors to unite against efforts to repeal the law, which has been in place since 1803.