A moratorium would be placed on Ohios death penalty while a special

committee studied its fairness under a bill introduced Tuesday by a

group of minority Democrats in the House.

The proposal, which has 16 Democratic co-sponsors, faces an uncertain

future in the House, where Republican Speaker Jo Ann Davidson said

such a review might not be necessary.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Shirley Smith, a Cleveland Democrat, would

require the governor and the Legislature to appoint a Capital Punishment

Review Commission. It would determine if the death penalty is fairly

applied. The panel also could make recommendations on any changes

necessary in Ohio law if it found an innocent person could be executed.

Davidson said executions in Ohio have not returned with the frequency

of some states that are reviewing death penalty cases to take into

account newly developed DNA evidence technology.

"We have a fairly long process in Ohio in reviewing them," Davidson of

Reynoldsburg said.

Ohio has executed just one inmate since 1963. Wilford Berry died by

lethal injection in 1999 after dropping appeals of his conviction in a

murder case.

Gov. Bob Taft had not seen the bill and his office had no comment on

it, spokeswoman Laura Jones said.

(source: Associated Press)