Keith LaMar breathed a sigh of relief after learning he would not be executed in January.
LaMar was set to die on Jan. 13, 2027, two days after Ohio’s next governor is sworn into office. The execution date hung over his head. He wasn’t sure if Gov. Mike DeWine − who wants lawmakers to repeal the death penalty − would come through.
Then he got the news from the warden at Ohio State Penitentiary.
“If (DeWine) wanted to, theoretically, he could have just left me in the lurch,” LaMar told the statehouse bureau.
LaMar was among three people on death row to get a reprieve from DeWine on Aug. 7. DeWine has delayed dozens of executions since he took office in 2019, citing problems with lethal injection drugs. But this marked the first time he’s acted on executions that won’t occur under his watch.
“I intend to be governor until the day I walk out of office,” DeWine told reporters Aug. 10. “I don’t intend to come in here and kick this to the next administration. This is no different than any of the other things that we’re doing. I’m governor until I’m not governor.”
DeWine delays executions to occur under his successor
The move came weeks after DeWine revealed his opposition to the death penalty, a major reversal for a former attorney general who co-sponsored Ohio’s death penalty law. The state hasn’t executed anyone since July 2018.
DeWine also postponed the executions of Scott Group and Davel Chinn, who were scheduled to die in February and March, respectively. Group was sentenced to death in the 1997 murder of a Youngstown bar owner, according to the Ohio attorney general’s office. Chinn received the death penalty for killing a man he robbed and kidnapped.
DeWine moved all three executions to 2030.
The reprieves removed the pressure on DeWine’s successor to oversee an execution on day two, said Kevin Werner, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton are vying for the chance to replace DeWine, who couldn’t run for reelection because of term limits.
But Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, who supports the death penalty, questioned whether DeWine should influence executions that fall under the next governor.
“This is going beyond what’s occurred at this point,” Stewart said. “It’s one thing to issue reprieves of executions that are going to take place while you’re governor. I don’t know what the limiting principle on this would be if he’s allowed to issue reprieves into the next governor’s term.”
DeWine won’t say to what extent he’ll use his clemency powers before he leaves office. He quietly commuted the death sentence of Gregory Lott in late May, The Marshall Project reported. He’ll also decide whether to grant clemency to Tyrone Noling, who has a hearing with the Ohio Parole Board on Aug. 18.
For LaMar, the reprieve gives him what he needs most: time.
Prosecutors said LaMar orchestrated an 11-day riot at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville that led to the death of nine prisoners and one guard. LaMar maintains his innocence and contends he was made into a scapegoat. On death row, he’s penned a memoir and collaborated with jazz musicians while fighting his conviction.
LaMar and his attorney are working on a motion to vacate his conviction based on new evidence. With his execution postponed, LaMar said, perhaps the court won’t view it as a desperate “Hail Mary.”
“I’m doing everything I can do,” LaMar said. “At some point, I’ll need some divine intervention.”
State government reporter Laura A. Bischoff contributed to this report.
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@usatodayco.com or @haleybemiller on X.
Tell us what you think
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Keith LaMar faced execution in January. DeWine gave him more time
Reporting by Haley BeMiller, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Haley BeMiller, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
