Ohio Death Penalty Appeals Act, Issue 1 (1994)

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The Ohio Death Penalty Appeals Act, also known as Issue 1, was on the November 8, 1994 ballot in Ohio as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.

Issue 1 changed the procedure in Ohio for appeals of cases in which the death penalty is imposed. Prior to the approval of Issue 1, appeals of death penalty convictions were made to the intermediate appellate court in Ohio. Issue 1 changed that so that appeals of death penalty cases go directly to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Election results

Issue 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		2,199,791	70.14%
No		936,323	29.86%

Constitutional changes

Issue 1 amended:

• Section 2 of Article IV of the Ohio Constitution.
• Section 3 of Article IV of the Ohio Constitution.

Support

The official voter guide arguments for Issue 1 were signed by:

• Governor George Voinovich
• Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher
• The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association

The main argument they made in the voter guide was:

"Ohioans should vote in favor of Issue 1 because it is a reasonable step toward reforming our criminal justice system. Too often criminals are allowed to manipulate and exploit our judicial process through endless appeals that take years to review. Meanwhile, the families of victims wait for final justice to be administered. Unfortunately, many families are still waiting. Support for Issue 1 is support for these families."

Opposition

The official voter guide arguments against Issue 1 were signed by:

• Mary Abel
• J. Donald Mottley
• Vernon Sykes
• Ben E. Espy
• Mearle Kearns

The main arguments they made in the voter guide were:

• "It will not significantly shorten the time between a sentence of death and execution."
• "It increases the risk that an innocent person will be executed."

Ballot question

The question on the ballot:

To change the procedure for appeals of cases in which the death penalty is imposed, this amendment will: 1. Remove jurisdiction from the courts of appeals to review death penalty cases on direct appeal. 2. Provide for direct appeals of death penalty cases to the Ohio Supreme Court from the courts of common pleas or other courts of record inferior to the court of appeals. 3. Apply to cases in which the death penalty is imposed for offenses committed on or after January 1, 1995. If adopted, this amendment will be effective January 1, 1995.

See also

• List of Ohio ballot measures
• Ohio 1994 ballot measures

External links

• Ohio 1994 ballot measures and election results

References

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