News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, June 22, 2026

Muskingum County Prosecutor Continues to Support the Death Penalty

Muskingum County Prosecutor Ron Welch respectfully disagrees with recent statements from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine suggesting Ohio should permanently eliminate the death penalty.

My office strongly supports preserving capital punishment because there are certain crimes so evil, so calculated, and so devastating that society must retain its ultimate punishment as an available sentencing option.

The death penalty was never intended to be applied broadly. It exists for the rarest and most heinous offenders: individuals who intentionally commit acts of extraordinary violence, murder children, kill law enforcement officers, murder multiple victims, or engage in conduct so depraved that it permanently devastates families and entire communities.

This office also believes Ohio, instead of banning the death penalty, should actively pursue expanding death penalty eligibility to include certain aggravated child sexual offenses involving extreme brutality, torture, prolonged victimization, or repeat sex offenders.

Unfortunately, a growing soft-on-crime movement has emerged across the country that prioritizes reducing sentences, limiting accountability, and expanding opportunities for release rather than focusing first on protecting innocent people and supporting victims.

This movement is being advanced by some prosecutors, lawmakers, and advocacy organizations that view incarceration itself as a primary problem instead of the solution to criminal behavior. Their policies often seek to reduce penalties for serious offenders, limit prosecutorial options, eliminate cash bail, weaken sentencing, and shorten prison terms for dangerous criminals.

Eliminating the death penalty is often presented as a single policy reform. I believe that perspective ignores a broader strategy being pursued in many jurisdictions.

Today the target is capital punishment. Tomorrow it will be life without parole. Over time, these efforts create increasing pressure to eliminate permanent sentences that keep Ohioans safe and expand opportunities for release, even for violent offenders who have committed the most horrific crimes.

We are already witnessing efforts in some states to reconsider lengthy prison sentences based on an offender's age or years served, regardless of the severity of the original offense. While every state may choose its own path, Muskingum County values have always rejected policies that place the interests of offenders ahead of the rights of victims and the safety of communities.

The people of Muskingum County have consistently demonstrated that they value accountability, personal responsibility, strong families, and public safety. They understand that while rehabilitation is appropriate in many cases, there are certain offenders whose actions permanently forfeit their ability to rejoin society.

The first responsibility of government is to protect innocent people, not to guarantee future release opportunities for those who have committed the most horrific acts imaginable.

Victims deserve certainty. Families deserve finality. Communities deserve protection.

Muskingum County will continue to oppose soft-on-crime policies that weaken accountability and will continue advocating for laws that strengthen public safety, support law enforcement, and protect victims.

The death penalty should remain available for the worst offenders, and Ohio should continue evaluating whether additional crimes involving the most severe forms of child victimization warrant inclusion as death penalty eligible offenses.

Our justice system exists first and foremost to protect law-abiding citizens. The rights of victims and the safety of our communities must always come before the comfort of violent offenders.

That mission is non-negotiable, and Muskingum County will continue to defend it.

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