Supporters of Keith LaMar gathered outside the Vern Riffe Center in downtown Columbus Friday afternoon to deliver a clemency petition to Gov. Mike DeWine. LaMar, 57, has spent more than three decades on Ohio’s death row. The supporters are asking DeWine to grant him a clemency hearing or pardon before he leaves office in January.
The governor’s office confirmed it had received LaMar’s clemency application the previous week, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Supporters who traveled from Cleveland delivered a letter to an employee in DeWine’s office Friday. They hope the governor will ask the Ohio Parole Board to set a hearing. Matter News reported that DeWine’s response is due Nov. 9.
How Ohio’s Clemency Process Works
After examining a death-penalty clemency case, the Ohio Parole Board sends the governor a report summarizing the case facts, making a recommendation for or against clemency, and explaining its reasoning, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
From Prison Riot to Death Row
LaMar’s clemency request comes decades after his conviction in a case stemming from the 1993 Lucasville prison uprising, an 11-day riot that left nine prisoners and one guard dead, according to NBC4’s reporting. LaMar was then serving an 18-year-to-life sentence after pleading guilty to fatally shooting a childhood friend, whom he said had tried to rob him. Prosecutors alleged LaMar became an enforcer during the uprising and killed or ordered the killing of five inmates. He was convicted in 1995 of killing five incarcerated men and has filed multiple unsuccessful appeals since 1998, NBC4 reported.
LaMar has maintained from day one that he was wrongfully convicted, according to Matter News. His supporters argue that the state relied solely on testimony from inmates who were offered deals and that helpful witness statements were withheld, as reported by NBC4 WCMH-TV. LaMar's lawyer, Keegan Stephan, said there is “incredible new evidence” of his client's innocence, according to Truthout.
Exonerees Join the Call for a Hearing
The rally was part of a broader Friday program that included a 3 p.m. panel at Trinity Episcopal Church. Speakers included exonerated Ohio death-row inmates Elwood Jones, Lamont Hunter and Derrick Jamison, all of whom were prosecuted by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, which also handled LaMar’s case, according to NBC4. Matter News reported that Bruce Bryan moderated the discussion. Amy Gordiejew, campaign manager for the nonprofit Justice for Keith LaMar, said the case warrants a hearing and that LaMar has a valid innocence claim. She also said DeWine had not cleared death row or taken further action, NBC4 reported.
DeWine helped write Ohio's capital punishment law as a state legislator in 1981, but called on Ohio to abolish the death penalty in June, according to NBC4. Speaking on the matter, DeWine said, “I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made… Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty,” per Truthout. LaMar was one of three Ohio death-row inmates granted reprieves in August 2026, with execution dates pushed back by three years from early 2027 to early 2030, according to The Oberlin Review. LaMar's execution is now scheduled for January 2030, per NBC4's reporting.
A Concert and a Contingency Plan
A benefit concert for LaMar took place Friday evening at Natalie's Grandview, featuring Freedom First, a collaborative jazz album by LaMar and musician Albert Marques, NBC4 reported. LaMar joined by phone from the Ohio State Penitentiary and recited his poetry. He described working with artists as a way to sustain hope and said he hoped to regain his freedom and live with family and friends, according to the station.
LaMar said he would continue to fight if DeWine or the parole board denied his request, according to NBC4. If DeWine does not grant a hearing or pardon before leaving office, LaMar plans to seek relief under incoming Gov. Amy Acton’s administration, which takes over in January 2027.
