Death-row inmate wants to donate his organs to ailing family members
A convicted murderer scheduled to die in Ohio on Thursday is asking to donate his organs to family members suffering from kidney disease and a heart condition.
Ronald Phillips wants to donate his kidney to his mother and his heart to his sister, the Associated Press reports. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection using a mixture of drugs that has not been used in an execution. Phillips’ lawyers say he is willing to donate the organs either before or after execution.
Phillips is willing to donate his organs to others if his family members can’t benefit, his lawyers say.
A federal judge refused to stay the execution last week, and Ohio’s governor rejected a clemency request, the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported last week. He has now dropped his appeals, his lawyer tells AP.
Phillips was convicted of raping and killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter in 1993.
