Attorney General Dave Yost has made a strenuous case for Ohio to restart executions in his eighth and final capital crimes report.

Why it matters: Ohio hasn't carried out an execution since 2018, under a de facto moratorium by Gov. Mike DeWine tied largely to the state's inability to secure lethal injection drugs.

What they're saying: Yost, a Republican, argues that Ohio has made "a mockery of the justice system," and is failing victims and their families by not carrying out death sentences.

• "For the worst-of-the-worst killers, Ohio is wandering in a wilderness of lawlessness and desert of justice," he writes.

By the numbers: More than 100 people remain on death row in the state — including seven active cases in Franklin County — with average wait times exceeding two decades.

• Some inmates now have scheduled execution dates stretching as far as 2029.

Zoom in: Yost highlights the brutal 1985 murder of 12-year-old Raymond Fife in Warren by teenagers Timothy Combs and Danny Lee Hill as a cut-and-dry example of a crime he says warrants execution.

The big picture: He dismisses concerns about wrongful executions, noting that most exonerations are the result of "legal errors that resulted in improper sentencing."

A new report from Ohioans to Stop Executions paints a starkly different picture.

• It found that for every five executions in Ohio, one person on death row has been exonerated.

Friction point: The Fife case underscores the difference of opinion.

• Hill, who was 18 at the time of the crime, was sentenced to death in 1986. His execution date has been postponed until 2029, and he has pending claims of intellectual disability and severe mental illness.
• As of Dec. 31, 2025, Hill's was one of 28 pending petitions before Ohio courts by death row inmates who claim they should be exempt from execution, citing Ohio's 2021 severe mental illness law.

Stunning stat: OTSE says misconduct by police and prosecutors — not what Yost refers to as "legal errors" — is a leading factor in exonerations, having been present in 11 of 12 Ohio death row exonerations.

• That's why Elwood Jones was exonerated in December, after serving 27 years on death row for a crime he did not commit.
• Hamilton County prosecutors failed to turn over nearly 4,000 pages of material containing exculpatory evidence in the 1996 trial.

What we're watching: A bipartisan bill to abolish Ohio's death penalty was introduced in 2025, but no hearings have taken place.

⚽️ Columbus City Council recently heard support for and opposition against its plan to bring a National Women's Soccer League team to town. (Dispatch)

📚 Columbus Metropolitan Library workers filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge last week, claiming the library is violating state law by union-busting.

• A library spokesperson says it continues to "comply with the law." (Matter News)

🔍 A Tiffin University class is working to "defrost" some of Ohio's cold murder cases. (The Ohio Newsroom)

🌎 The Crew will host the Ecuadorian national team's base camp for this summer's World Cup. (Crew)

🏥 Ten safety net hospitals in Ohio are at risk of closing due to funding cuts from the "big, beautiful bill." (Ohio Capital Journal)

The next time you start your car, thank an Ohioan.

And the next time you're stuck at a red light? Well, you can thank one, too.

Driving the news: As part of its yearlong America 250 celebration, Ohio is recognizing its impact on transportation throughout April.

• That includes Charles Kettering inventing the electric self-starter in Dayton, and Clevelander Garrett Morgan inventing the modern stoplight.

Zoom in: The signature events are two historic train trips to the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum in Eastern Ohio, where a big celebration is planned.

• A few tickets remain for an April 26 trip out of Newark.
• Local events are also happening in Hilliard and Pickerington that weekend.

What's next: A Transportation Trail launches the week of April 20, highlighting our state's historic highways, byways, canals, airports and depots.

👋 Alissa here. This month marks a decade of me covering the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium — the good, the bad and the utterly adorable.

My first assignment: The public debut of celebrity polar bear cub Nora.

• I also learned the zoo beat is full of lots of interesting science, like her survival story as a hand-raised cub.

Today on National Zoo Lovers Day, revisit some other noteworthy breakthroughs:

🐱 Two cheetah cubs from 2020 were the world's first born via in vitro fertilization.

🐘 Breeding milestones last year included a world record number of weedy seadragon dads and a rare pair of elephants.

• Fun fact: One elephant mama does yoga.

🦠 A new lab, launched in 2023, is working to keep elephants safe from a deadly virus.

🐠 Ongoing research is restoring coral reefs and local endangered species, like garter snakes and freshwater mussels.

• The zoo helped reestablish Ohio's trumpeter swan population, and a pair housed there may become first-time parents this summer.

👑 And Stubby the manatee continues her work as a surrogate mother — and her reign as "queen of the zoo."

What we're watching: Last week, the zoo confirmed plans for a new aquatic conservation center and aquarium in the years ahead.