Death Penalty
Ohio Gov Avoids Obesity Execution Issue re 450-Pound Inmate, Grants Clemency on Another Basis
Sidestepping the issue of whether Ronald Post, at approximately 450 pounds, is too overweight to be humanely executed, Ohio’s chief executive has granted him clemency on another basis.
Gov. John Kasich on Monday commuted Post’s death sentence to life without the possibility of parole, saying that this was appropriate, regardless of what many consider his apparent guilt, because of poor legal representation, the Associated Press reports.
“This decision should not be viewed by anyone as diminishing this awful crime or the pain it has caused,” said Kasich, referring to the 1983 robbery and slaying of Helen Vantz, a motel clerk in Elyria.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “At 480 Pounds, Inmate Says He Is Too Fat for Lethal Injection”
