Petition to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine
With nearly 270,000 signatures collected to date, the following petition is being made on Keith LaMar's behalf...
To: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine
Ohio Death Row prisoner Keith LaMar is scheduled to be executed in Ohio, his date recently moved to January 16, 2030 through a reprieve you granted. Thank you for taking that step toward justice. I am joining the choir of engaged and informed citizens who believe in Keith's innocence and who are now calling on you to use your power to pardon Keith LaMar before you leave office.
Keith's attorneys are fighting his case through the courts, and we believe they will prevail if justice truly and finally takes place. However, he has been made to suffer an unbearable torture for the past 33 years being held in solitary confinement all this time, and deserves to not have that cruelty go on another day longer. They need your help.
Please, Governor DeWine, do not turn away. I ask you to look into the particulars of Keith's case, as he was deprived of a fair trial in 1995 following the prison uprising at SOCF. Evidence that proves his innocence has been uncovered, including a confession to a murder given in the early aftermath of the riot, an inmate's life for whom Keith is paying the price. This evidence was never turned over by the prosecution, a clear violation of Keith's Constitutional Rights, and, thus, has never been heard in any court. Jailhouse informants were incentivized by the State to lie at trial, in spite of gross inconsistencies with their earlier interviews. Not one bit of forensic or physical evidence against Keith was ever found, because there was none. And Keith was convicted by an all-white jury, a Batson violation. Indeed, in over three decades, Keith LaMar has never once wavered in his insistence that he was not involved; that is because he is innocent.
Based on recommendations set forth by the 2011 Joint Task Force to Review the Administration of Ohio's Death Penalty – a body convened by our Ohio Supreme Court and made up of retired judges, attorneys, and college professors (including Joe Deters, whom you appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court and who led Hamilton County's prosecutions in 1995) – "no one should be indicted, let alone sentenced to death, based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of jailhouse informants." This was unanimously voted on 19-0, becoming recommendation #18. Why, then, should Ohioans accept Keith LaMar's death sentence? We do not!
Governor DeWine, I respectfully ask you to consider the fact that Keith LaMar would have more than likely been home by now based on the humility, courage, and remarkable personal growth he has demonstrated during his 37 years in prison. The original crime that landed him in prison as a teenager was a tragedy borne out of poverty and desperation, one to which he confessed at the time (and of which we also now know was improperly advised--he should never have copped a plea to "murder" for something that clearly was not at all premeditated). We ask you to give weight to the fact that he has spent past 33 years in indefinite solitary confinement in spite of his innocence, and these years have been exceptionally cruel and unusual. This man has been punished enough, which is why we are asking you to fully pardon him. Life without the possibility of parole would not repair the harm of the injustice that has been allowed toward Keith LaMar for over three decades in our names.
In spite of everything that Keith has endured, the 57-year-old man we know today is a true asset to society. He manages to bring an incredible amount of love and hope to the people whose lives he touches. He is a generous educator who has founded a literacy project for at-risk youth. Keith is surrounded by the support of family and friends, many of whom teach at America's finest educational institutions, serve in law enforcement, provide community care as faith leaders, work in the arts, and save lives as frontline nurses and doctors. In fact, over 100 university professors and students nominated Keith for a Nobel Peace Prize in January of 2026! Indeed, we are eager to welcome and help him acclimate back into society, as we have no doubt that Keith is a much-needed light in this dark and confusing world. After all, we have experienced Keith LaMar; he has saved many of us in our darkest hours by offering us encouragement and friendship.
Sir, you are in the unique position to save and restore the life of someone most deserving. We appeal to your faith in God (which you make so apparent!) and your sense of human decency to set this travesty right. The public cannot be asked to watch another innocent Black man be executed in our names. We also cannot throw him away into a life without the possibility of parole situation. This is not the Ohio, the United States of America, or the world within which we should hope to live. Please do the morally righteous thing, and pardon Keith LaMar fully before you leave office and allow him to be as physically free as he is mentally and spiritually.
God bless you for your service to Ohio, particularly during these most trying of times.
To add your name to the growing list of supporters, please go to: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/free-keith-lamar/
Read the other documents supporting Keith for a pardon delivered to the governor at the Riffe Center in Columbus: