OHIO KILLS ANOTHER

Ohio killed Dan Wilson today even though the Sixth Circuit essentially determined that his conviction on the sole aggravating circumstance in his case was improper (opinion here). That doesn't make him factually innocent, but it does mean that he was never properly convicted of the only thing that made him eligible to be executed.

That was the first Ohio execution this year. But it's not likely to be the last. As I type this, there are six (6!) more scheduled.

• John Fautenberry - July 14
• Marvellous Keene - July 21
• Jason Getsy - August 18
• Rommell Broom - September 15
• Darryl Durr - November 10
• Kenneth Biros - December 8

Those six emphasize what those of us who attend to these things know: Ohio kills more people than any other state outside the South. It's not even close. And there are at least four pending requests for execution dates in the Ohio Supreme Court.

I'm resisting writing an angry abolitionist screed here. This is a day to mourn the loss of life, not to carry on about an evil system. So let us mourn: For Dan Wilson and for Carol Lutz, whom he killed. And for their friends and families. For Dan's lawyers who fought valiantly to save his life. For those yet to be killed. And for all of us in whose name this was done. For no good reason.

The screed will come in a few days.