The Ohio Senate held a hearing Tuesday afternoon to hear the testimonies of senators advocating for the end of the death penalty in Ohio.

Senators Nicki Antonio and Steve Huffman both testified on why they believe it's time to put an end to the death penalty in Ohio, with Senator Antonio describing the death penalty as "expensive, impractical, unjust, inhumane and erroneous."

Senator Huffman expanded on this claim stating that the cost of the average death penalty case including execution in Ohio is $3 million per inmate compared to the cost of $1 million per inmate for a life sentence without the chance of parole.

"Ohioan's taxpayer dollars would be better spent pursuing constructive positive policies that enhance the quality of life in our local communities," Senator Huffman said.

Senator Antonio added that most states where the death penalty is still in place show murder rates higher than those that have abolished it.

"To continue this ineffective practice seems to be a pursuit of justice through the use of an irresponsible policy," Senator Antonio said.

Antonio also brought up racial biases present when sentencing inmates to death, specifically naming Cuyahoga and Hamilton Counties stating that over half of the inmates on death row are Black citing a 2020 study from the Death Penalty Information Center.

"This study examined the way the death penalty is unfairly applied, specifically in Hamilton County by showing that Black men are three to four times more likely to receive a death sentence if the victim is white," Senator Antonio said.

Senator, Matt Dolan expressed some concerns with this potential legislation pointing out that the process of capital punishment allows for a very in-depth appeal to demonstrate whether or not someone is innocent.

"If a person gets sentenced to life in prison without parole, the appeal system is nowhere near as intrusive as capital punishment, so we could have somebody sitting with no hope of ever proving their innocence," Senator Dolan said.

If passed, Ohio would become the 24th state in the country to abolish the death penalty. The legislation is now awaiting future hearings from the Ohio Senate.