Ohio Gov. Jon Kasich (R) on Monday halted the planned execution of a killer who argued that his obesity precludes a humane execution, the Associated Press reports:
Kasich followed a recommendation of mercy by the state parole board, which said it didn’t doubt Ronald Post’s guilt but said there were too many problems with how he was represented 30 years ago. Post, who weighs 450 pounds, never raised the issue of his size with the board.
In its Friday decision, the parole board rejected arguments made by Post’s attorneys that he deserves mercy because of lingering doubts about his “legal and moral guilt” in a woman’s death, but it said it couldn’t ignore perceived missteps by his lawyers.
Post was scheduled to die Jan. 16 for killing Elyria motel clerk Helen Vantz in a 1983 robbery.
