Two local lawmakers from opposing parties are united in seeking to abolish Ohio's death penalty.

• Sens. Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) and Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus) say it's time to end the practice in favor of lifetime prison sentences.

Why it matters: Abolishing the death penalty would spare the lives of 10 prisoners from Franklin County and more than 100 others waiting on Ohio's death row.

• The policy is currently under an unofficial moratorium, as the state lacks supply of the drugs used for lethal injections.

What's happening: A small, but growing, faction of lawmakers has repeatedly tried to end the practice over the past decade.

• The legislative momentum comes as the number of people executed statewide has steadily declined, an Axios review finds.
• Once an issue backed solely by Democrats, there is now increasing support from Republicans — a needed trend if abolishment is to pass a GOP-heavy Statehouse.

State of play: Ohio went nearly 40 years between executions before resuming the death penalty in 1999 under then-Gov. Bob Taft.

• The state has executed 56 people since then, though none since 2018.
• Botched executions in 2009, 2014 and 2017 drew intense scrutiny from death penalty critics.

The intrigue: Taft, a Republican, now condemns the practice as costly and ineffective at deterring violent crime.

• He's highlighted the racial disparity in death penalty sentences, noting that people of color make up a disproportionately high percentage of people on death row.
• Fellow former governors Dick Celeste and Ted Strickland, both Democrats, have likewise changed their views and advocate for the policy's repeal.

Between the lines: Gov. Mike DeWine helped write the current death penalty law as a young state legislator and later defended it through two terms as attorney general, per WOSU.

• But his support has waned since becoming governor and no executions have taken place since he took office.
• He has said it's unlikely any will go through during the rest of his second term as Ohio continues to struggle to obtain drugs necessary for lethal injection.

The other side: Attorney General Dave Yost continues to support the death penalty "for the most abhorrent offenders."

• He says lawmakers should either improve the "broken" capital punishment system to remove "churn, waste and endless lawsuits" or eliminate it entirely.

What we're watching

Electric vehicle (EV) registration rates in the Midwest were among the lowest of 28 Axios Local cities as of January 2023, per data analyzed by Axios' Joann Muller.

By the numbers: EVs accounted for 3.7% of monthly new vehicle registrations in the Columbus area — up just slightly from 3.3% last January.

• Rates ranged from 2.2% in Cleveland to 4.3% in Minnesota's Twin Cities.
• Chicago, where buyers receive a $4,000 state credit for EV purchases, was an outlier at 7.6% — higher than the national average of 7%.

Yes, but: Columbus' adoptions lead Ohio, so at least we're setting the pace statewide.

What's happening: EVs are gaining popularity as a cleaner alternative to gasoline-powered cars, but obstacles like charging access and high prices are still preventing buyers from going electric.

• Concerns about cold Midwest weather affecting battery performance may also be partially to blame — a challenge Axios' Muller faced in Ohio during an early March road trip from Florida to Michigan.

What we're watching: Ohio has $100 million in federal dollars available to expand its charging infrastructure over the next five years, with an initial focus on interstate corridors.

• The Ohio Department of Transportation tells Axios it received 300 proposals to install and operate stations; so much interest that it pushed back its timeline for awarding funding to this summer.
• Construction is expected to begin later this year.

🏈 Air Noland, one of the 10 best high school QBs in the nation, has committed to Ohio State for the upcoming football season. (247Sports)

🧑‍⚖️ The Franklin County Prosecutor's Office established a new Conviction Integrity Unit to review claims of innocence and wrongful conviction in felony cases. (Dispatch)

🏫 Interim state superintendent Stephanie Siddens will soon resign and become deputy superintendent of the Upper Arlington school district. (WCMH-TV)

🙏 Thank you to our readers who shared stories about learning to read, as Ohio considers overhauling the way schools teach the subject:

Deb. L.: "I was taught by the traditional phonics method in the early 1960s … First grade was a class of 64 students (I am not exaggerating!) and one ill-tempered nun in an inner city Catholic school. We used the Dick and Jane readers."

Scott S.: "My indelible memory of learning to read was first grade, sitting around a table, each kid would have to read aloud going around. When someone struggled with a word they would dip their head down closer to the page as if that would help. Everyone did it, and the image still sticks in my mind."

Jeanne C.: "I learned to read using phonics. Never could understand why they changed a way of learning that makes so much sense."

More of your great responses

💼 See who's hiring around the city.

1. Director, Content Acquisition Strategy & Operations at ACS.
2. General Utility at Packaging Corporation of America.
3. Section Chief of Quality Improvement at Ohio Department of Medicaid.

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Starting today, Columbus Zoo guests can get an up close look at the underwater world of the weedy seadragon.

Diving the news: The new exhibit in the zoo's nocturnal animal building has been months in the making — it shut down in September for the addition and other renovations.

• See the upgrades in the "Australia and the Islands" region.

Fun facts: Despite their name, weedy seadragons aren't dragons at all – they're a roughly 18-inch-long fish species most closely related to seahorses.

• The male raises young by attaching eggs to a brood pouch under his tail.