Ohio Governor Mike DeWine commuted the death sentence of Gregory Lott to life in prison without parole on May 27, 2026. This marks the first commutation DeWine has issued in his eight years as governor.

Lott, 64, was convicted for the 1986 death of John "Jack" McGrath, an 82-year-old East Cleveland man. Lott set McGrath on fire during a home burglary, and McGrath died after 10 days in the intensive care unit at a Cleveland hospital. DeWine noted that the victim's family stated their faith would not condone killing as a reason for sparing Lott's life. The Ohio parole board recommended leniency for Lott in 2020, and prosecutors later dropped their objections to his commutation.

Lott has intellectual disabilities, and his execution was postponed at least four times. His execution was delayed in 2002 after the U.S. Supreme Court decided against executing individuals with intellectual disabilities as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment. Lott's attorneys filed for relief six days after the Supreme Court's decision in Atkins v. Virginia. The Ohio Supreme Court subsequently denied Lott's claim and established "Lott's test" for intellectual disability, which allowed prosecutors to refute claims of intellectual disability for individuals with IQ scores above 70.

Stephen Ferrell, a federal public defender who represented Lott, said, "It was a very convoluted path, and I genuinely feel for guys like Greg (Lott), who had real execution dates they were really facing." The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office continued to challenge Lott's claim of disability until their own expert determined he was intellectually impaired. Between 2014 and 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned plans to execute intellectually disabled men in Florida and Texas. The Ohio Supreme Court revised "Lott's test" in 2019, eliminating IQ scores as the sole reason for rejecting intellectual disability claims. "To me, that epitomizes the arbitrariness of this system," Ferrell said.

DeWine granted Lott a reprieve from execution in early 2020, citing a lack of available drugs for humane lethal injection. The Ohio parole board voted 6-2 in favor of clemency for Lott. In 2022, prosecutors in Cuyahoga County withdrew their opposition to Lott's request for mercy. Luigi Miola, the Catholic pastor of John "Jack" McGrath, conveyed the family's opposition to the death penalty to the parole board.