Ohio death penalty review committee to meet again

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A state Supreme Court task force analyzing the effectiveness of Ohio's capital punishment law plans another meeting Thursday as part of its yearlong review.

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor has convened the task force while making clear it won't debate whether the state should have the death penalty.

The committee of prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and death penalty experts is looking at a variety of issues, from how the law affects minorities to the role of clemency.

The committee also is studying whether death sentences are proportional, meaning that any one death sentence is similar to others that have also been handed down.

O'Connor says the committee's goal is to produce a fair, impartial and balanced analysis of the state's 30-year-old law.