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Joe Deters' letter
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J OSEPH T. D ETERS HAMILTON COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY ADMINISTRATION DIVISION 230 EAST NINTH STREET, SUITE 4000 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2151 PHONE: 513 946-3006 FAX: 513 946-3017 WWW.HCPROS.ORG WRITER’S DIRECT DIAL NUMBER 946-3006 February 2, 2012 To the Editor: Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer has been traveling Ohio campaigning for the repeal of Ohio’s death penalty. This is somewhat disconcerting since one of his jobs as an Ohio Supreme Court Justice is to rule on cases before that court involving the death penalty. Recently he has taken to criticizing me, as the Hamilton County Prosecutor, for my decisions in determining which crimes to charge as death-eligible aggravated murder cases. On January 19 th he was quoted in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum as stating that Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters believes all murders are death penalty cases. One month earlier, Justice Pfeifer testified in front of the Ohio legislature in favor of repealing the death penalty. After his testimony he again stated I was abusing my discretion by treating too many murders as death penalty cases. He specifically recommended I follow the charging practices of Cuyahoga and Franklin counties. Justice Pfeifer is clearly not familiar with this issue. The Ohio Supreme Court Capital Indictment Index reflects that from 1981 through 2010 there were approximately 3,110 death penalty indictments in Ohio. Cuyahoga County indicted about 1,215 of them. Franklin County indicted about 497. Hamilton County, the county that Justice Pfeifer believes treats every murder as a death penalty case, only indicted 162. Further, based on information compiled by the Ohio Attorney General, Hamilton County obtained a sentence of death in 37% of these indictments. Franklin and Cuyahoga County succeeded at about a 4% to 5% rate respectively. Obviously, Justice Pfeifer’s comments are factually incorrect.
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Joe Deters' letter
Transcript of Joe Deters' letter
JOSEPH T. DETERSHAMILTON COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
ADMINISTRATION DIVISION230 EAST NINTH STREET, SUITE 4000
CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-2151PHONE: 513 946-3006
FAX: 513 946-3017WWW.HCPROS.ORG
WRITER’S DIRECT DIAL NUMBER946-3006
February 2, 2012
To the Editor:
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer has been traveling Ohio campaigningfor the repeal of Ohio’s death penalty. This is somewhat disconcerting since one of hisjobs as an Ohio Supreme Court Justice is to rule on cases before that court involving thedeath penalty.
Recently he has taken to criticizing me, as the Hamilton County Prosecutor, formy decisions in determining which crimes to charge as death-eligible aggravatedmurder cases. On January 19th he was quoted in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum as statingthat Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters believes all murders are death penaltycases. One month earlier, Justice Pfeifer testified in front of the Ohio legislature in favorof repealing the death penalty. After his testimony he again stated I was abusing mydiscretion by treating too many murders as death penalty cases. He specificallyrecommended I follow the charging practices of Cuyahoga and Franklin counties.
Justice Pfeifer is clearly not familiar with this issue. The Ohio Supreme CourtCapital Indictment Index reflects that from 1981 through 2010 there were approximately3,110 death penalty indictments in Ohio. Cuyahoga County indicted about 1,215 ofthem. Franklin County indicted about 497.
Hamilton County, the county that Justice Pfeifer believes treats every murder asa death penalty case, only indicted 162. Further, based on information compiled by theOhio Attorney General, Hamilton County obtained a sentence of death in 37% of theseindictments. Franklin and Cuyahoga County succeeded at about a 4% to 5% raterespectively. Obviously, Justice Pfeifer’s comments are factually incorrect.
February 2, 2012Page 2
There are two important conclusions to be drawn. First of all, Justice Pfeifer’scontinued participation in deciding death penalty cases is inappropriate. It gives rise toa credible inference that he cannot be fair to both sides. Second, his false publiccriticisms of me indicate he has absolutely no business sitting in judgment of cases fromHamilton County. In fairness, he should remove himself from every death penalty case.
Imagine if United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas were to makepublic statements that he found the Roe v. Wade decision no longer valid and madepublic pronouncements calling for a ban on abortion. Further imagine if Justice Thomascontinued to hear cases impacting Roe v. Wade. The outcry from the public and themedia would be extreme. Ohioans should be no less offended by Justice Pfeifer.
Sincerely,
Joseph T. Deters
Joseph T. DetersHamilton County Prosecuting Attorney
JTD/mag
