Hoping to capitalize on the nation’s current political climate, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins is urging state and federal officials to resume executions, criticizing a proposed Ohio bill that combines the death penalty, abortion and assisted suicide into a single piece of legislation.

In a letter to the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Watkins detailed his efforts to revive the death penalty in Ohio and at the federal level, according to a release from his office.

Watkins criticized Ohio House Bill 72, which would abolish the death penalty in Ohio, prohibit the use of state funds for assisted suicide and clarify the state’s prohibition against the use of state funds for abortion. The bill includes a non-severability clause, requiring all parts of the bill to be enforced.

“This is transformative legislation that represents a new era of fiscal and moral conservatism and responsibility,” said Rep. Adam Mathews, a Republican and bill co-sponsor. “This is more than just policy; this is about the affirmation that where there is human life, there is dignity and hope. By prohibiting public funds from being used to terminate human life, this legislation sends a clear message that Ohio will not fund death.”

Watkins described the bill’s packaging of the death penalty, abortion and assisted suicide as “logrolling,” claiming the practice violates the Ohio Constitution.

The last execution in Ohio was in 2018, when Robert Van Hook was put to death by lethal injection. Since then, executions have been on hold after a federal judge ruled that lethal injections caused severe pain and suffering, and Gov. Mike DeWine said manufacturers refused to provide the drugs used for lethal injections.

Watkins, whose office has handled cases resulting in nine death sentences and three executions during his 41 years as prosecutor, cited past support for the death penalty from figures like former President Ronald Reagan and the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He praised former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb for securing execution drugs before leaving office, providing what Watkins described as “some finality to the victims” after a 15-year delay.

Among the high-profile capital cases prosecuted by Watkins is that of Danny Lee Hill, who has been on death row for nearly 39 years for the 1985 rape, torture and murder of 12-year-old Raymond Fife in Warren. Miriam Fife, the victim’s mother, served as a victim’s advocate for the prosecutor until her retirement in 2015.

Another death row inmate prosecuted by Watkins is Stanley Adams, convicted of the 1999 double murder of Esther Cook and her daughter, Ashley Cook, in Warren. Investigators said Adams beat and stabbed Esther Cook and raped and strangled her daughter.

Watkins also sent letters to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost seeking their support for restarting executions.

“In many counties where the victims of crime have been frozen in time without the enforcement of the [death penalty.] We must have a plan of action in Ohio to restore justice and the death penalty for heartless killers as other states and the federal government are doing,” Watkins wrote.

Ohioans to Stop Executions, a coalition working to end capital punishment in the state, continues its advocacy. The group, founded in 1988, emphasizes the perspectives of victims’ families and the risk of wrongful convictions.

The organization also cites data analysis showing that Ohio’s death penalty disproportionately affects individuals with mental illness, drug addiction and those living in poverty, particularly in cases where the victim is white.

The organization says Ohio could improve its criminal justice system by shifting focus to the victim’s needs.

Watkins letter to the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association may be read below: