313 sentenced to death in Ohio since ’81

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

An annual report on Ohio’s capital punishment system says 313 defendants have been sentenced to death since the state’s death-penalty law took effect in 1981, with 46 executions.

The report says 16 inmates were spared by governors and another 22 died of natural causes while on death row.

The report released Friday by Attorney General Mike DeWine also says eight inmates were ruled ineligible for execution because they were mentally disabled and eight were set for resentencing, which could include another death sentence.

The report says 71 death sentences were thrown out by judges for reasons besides mental disability or resentencing.

Ohio, with 146 men and one woman on death row, is in the midst of an unofficial execution moratorium while a federal judge reviews state lethal injection procedures.