Joe Deters

Deters is a lifelong Cincinnatian. He is one of eight children born to Nancy and Donald Deters. His grandfather, Daniel Tehan, was a longtime Hamilton County Sheriff.[1]

Deters graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1975. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1979, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1982.[2]

Deters began his career in public service in 1982 as an Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor. In 1988, after six years as an Assistant Prosecutor, Deters was elected the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. In 1992, Deters returned to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's office when he was appointed and later elected Prosecuting Attorney. He was subsequently reelected in 1996.

In 1999, Deters was sworn in as Ohio's 44th State Treasurer. Deters resigned from office in 2004 amid a pay-to-play scandal that saw Deters's former chief of staff, Matt Borges plead guilty to improper use of a public office.[3] Borges traded campaign contributions for preferential treatment in receiving state contracts. Deters was never implicated or charged in the scheme.[4]

In the fall of 2004, Deters became a write-in candidate for his former position, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney. He was elected Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney on November 2, 2004, with nearly 60% of the vote. He was subsequently reelected in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. Deters resigned as Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney after being appointed to the Supreme Court of Ohio in 2023. On April 1, 2005, Deters and Matthias Heck were sued iny their official capacity in a federal lawsuit, Citizens for Tax Reform v. Deters.

As Prosecutor, Deters has managed high-profile cases that have attracted national and international attention. In 1987, he led the investigation of Donald Harvey, a convicted serial killer who pleaded guilty to murdering 37 people as apla hospital orderly.[5] Approximately 30 years later, he prosecuted his fifth serial killer, Samuel Little, who murdered two Cincinnati women over the course of a 30-year killing spree.[6] In total, Deters has prosecuted six serial killers.[7]

In 2012, Deters was highly critical of Xavier University for expelling Dezmine Wells, one of its basketball players, due to a rape allegation. Prior to the school hearing on the matter, a grand jury had refused to prosecute Wells, and Deters—who is known for being tough on crime and said the prosecutor's office had conducted a thorough investigation—maintained that the accusation lacked any credibility and the decision "wasn't even close."[8][9] He said that the school proceedings had egregiously violated Wells' right to a fair hearing by putting the burden of proof on Wells instead of his accuser, had assigned incompetent staff to examine the forensic evidence, and prevented Wells from presenting evidence which would have proven his innocence. After learning of Xavier's decision, he called for the university to reexamine Wells' expulsion.[8]

On July 29, 2015, Deters oversaw the indictment of University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing in the killing of Sam DuBose during a traffic stop. He called the killing "totally unwarranted" and "senseless."[10] His comments regarding the killing received some criticism from the public.[11] Many critics also pointed to the published comments of the editorial board of the Cincinnati Enquirer which had previously criticized Deters for his remarks about a violent assault earlier that month which he had decided not to charge as a racially motivated crime.[12] In describing the people responsible for the assault, Deters called such people "soulless and unsalvageable" and implied that he perceived a race or broadly generalized socioeconomic status origin to this type of violence when he said further:

They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting.

Nevertheless, the office worked quickly to complete the investigation, filing charges just 10 days after the initial shooting.[13] However, a divided jury failed to reach a verdict on two separate occasions, prompting Deters’ announcement that the County would not try the case a third time.[14]

Following a violent 2021 Fourth of July weekend in Cincinnati, which included a shooting at a downtown park, Deters announced that the office would no longer offer plea bargains in any cases involving gun violence or possession of illegal firearms. He added, “People must be held accountable for their choices. As a community, we must stand together and say ‘enough is enough.’”[15]

In 2023, Xavier University announced that Justice Deters would be serving in the new position of Justice In Residence on campus. In this role, Deters will be participating in classroom discussions with students as well as advise students in his area of expertise.[16]

Throughout his tenure, Deters has gained a reputation for being a “tough on crime” prosecutor, believing in strict punishments for violent crime, including the death penalty. He has maintained this stance, even after a Vatican official rebuked Deters, a Roman Catholic, for pursuing the death penalty for serial killer Anthony Kirkland, who killed two adult women and two young girls between 2006 and 2009.[17] Responding to the official, Deters said:

My dear friends who are priests don't understand what we're dealing with. There is evil in this world and there comes a point where society needs to defend itself.

He has repeated that he was elected to uphold Ohio law, which includes the death penalty. To critics, he states, “If the citizens of Ohio want the law changed, they should contact their state representative and let him or her know. I have no quarrel with that.”[18]

In July 2018, Deters said he wants the state to bring back death penalty by firing squad amid complaints about lethal injection.[19]

However, since assuming office, Deters has also supported diversion programs, aiming to help “low-level, nonviolent offenders avoid jail time, find rehabilitation, and get their lives back on track.”[20] In 2010, he helped establish the Hamilton County Drug Court – the first in the state of Ohio. Other programs his office have sponsored include Mental Health Court, Juvenile Diversion Program, and CHANGE Court, a specialized court serving those charged with prostitution and related offenses.[21]

Deters is a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association, National District Attorneys Association, and Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association. He has served on the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees, Ohio Organized Crime Commission, and the Southern Ohio Leukemia Foundation.[2]

He has four children and two grandchilden.[2] He is currently married since (October 2021) to Tanya O'Rourke (WCPO-9).

• Hamilton County Prosecutor Biography
• Campaign Data via Our Campaigns