Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is preparing to make a major statement on the death penalty in January as he starts his final year in office, after maintaining an unofficial moratorium on executions for the past seven years.

But as the Today in Ohio podcast team discussed Friday, the timing of this announcement raises questions. Why now? What’s his goal? Is this about his legacy?

“He has been closed lipped about his personal views,” said Laura Johnston. “But you can read between the lines on here that while Mike DeWine has been governor that we have not had any executions.”

This timing prompted host Chris Quinn to question DeWine’s motivations, comparing the governor to someone having a late-life religious conversion. “I feel like Mike DeWine is like that guy who has been a agnostic or an

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