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POSSIBLE DEATH PENALTY CRIMES IN OHIO In Ohio an aggravated (or intentional) murder with one or more of the following circumstances may be deemed a capital crime by the prosecutor:
a) the assassination of the President, Vice President, Governor, or Lieutenant
Governor;
b) murder for hire;
c) murder to escape accountability for another crime;
d) murder by a prisoner;
e) killing or attempting to kill two or more people;
f) killing a law enforcement officer;
g) felony murder (i.e., murder in conjunction with kidnapping, rape, aggravated
arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary);
h) killing a witness to prevent their testimony, or in retaliation for their
testimony;
i) killing an individual under thirteen years of age;
j) murder committed during or immediately after terrorism.
However, sentencing options in capital cases where guilt has been proven beyond
a reasonable doubt also include life without parole (LWOP), parole after 25
years, and parole after 30 years. Factors which may mitigate the imposition of
the death sentence include:
a) whether or not whether the victim induced or facilitated the offense;
b) whether or not the offender was under duress, coercion, or strong
provocation;
c) whether or not the offender suffered from mental disease or defect, or
lacked the capacity to understand their crime at the time of the offense;
d) the age of the offender's age (those under the age of 18 are not eligible
for the death penalty);
e) whether or not the offender's lacked of a prior criminal record or record of
delinquency;
f) the degree of the offender's involvement in the offense and the acts that
led to the aggravated murder;
g) the presence of any other facts and circumstances relevant to the imposition
of the death sentence on the offender.