Justice Pfeifer, a Republican from Bucyrus, led the Senate committee that helped shape Ohio's death penalty 20 years ago. Such a new panel would screen death row inmates whose mental condition might raise questions about their competence, he said. Mary Anne Sharkey, spokeswoman for Gov. Bob Taft, said Monday the governor is interested in learning more about Justice Pfeifer's proposal but thinks Ohio's death penalty system provides adequate safeguards. Chief Justice Thomas Moyer declined to comment on Justice Pfeifer's specific criticism, or comment generally on the court's oversight of death penalty cases. Since Ohio reinstated the death penalty in October 1981, the high court has overturned three death sentences among the 136 capital cases it has heard, according to court records.
Some areas impose the death penalty more often than others.
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