Governor again reschedules executions as lawmakers propose new method

Watch a previous NBC4 report on Ohio lawmakers’ proposed new execution method in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine has again rescheduled the execution of two Ohio prisoners as lawmakers are taking action to introduce a new execution method to the state.

Timothy L. Hoffner will now be executed on July 14, 2027, for his role in killing a 22-year-old man who was buried alive in Sylvania Township in 1993. The scheduling change marks Hoffner’s fourth execution date. His execution was originally scheduled for May 29, 2019, but was moved to Aug, 11, 2021, and then again rescheduled for June 18 of this year.

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In addition, John David Stumpf will now be executed on August 18, 2027, for fatally shooting a woman outside of her New Concord home in 1984. The scheduling change marks Stumpf’s fifth execution date. His execution was originally scheduled for Jan. 3. 2018, but was moved to Nov. 14, 2018. The date was again rescheduled for Sept. 15, 2021, and then for Aug. 13 of this year.

The new execution dates comes two weeks after Attorney General Dave Yost, Representatives Phil Plummer and Brian Stewart announced a new bill that would allow the use of nitrogen hypoxia to kill death row inmates in the state. Yost called this the “next step to kickstart” Ohio’s death penalty system.

The joint announcement came days after another state used nitrogen hypoxia as a new method to kill death row inmates. The newly proposed method involves death by forcing an inmate to breathe pure nitrogen gas through a respirator mask, which would deprive them of oxygen.

Alabama used nitrogen hypoxia for the first time in history, simultaneously marking the first new type of execution introduced since lethal injection in 1982. A 58-year-old death row inmate, convicted murderer-for-hire Kenneth Eugene Smith, served as a test subject of sorts for the gas.

Ohio has not carried out a death sentence since 2018. The state has continuously delayed upcoming execution dates because of issues with its main method, lethal injection. DeWine again explained the reason as “ongoing problems involving the willingness” of drug suppliers to sell the ingredients for a deadly cocktail to ODRC.

Still, Lawrence Landrum remains scheduled to be executed on Oct. 15 of this year for killing an 84-year-old man during a robbery in 1985. His execution had originally been scheduled for Dec. 9, 2021.

Alongside pushing back execution dates, the state said at the beginning of 2024 that it would shift the inmates to a new prison. Three other executions have been delayed from dates in 2024:

• Greg Lott: originally scheduled to be executed on Feb. 15, 2024, rescheduled for April 14, 2027

• John Stojetz: originally scheduled for March 14, 2024, rescheduled for May 19, 2027

• Archie Dixon: originally scheduled for April 17, 2024, rescheduled for June 16, 2027

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