Related News
Inmate: I'm too fat, so spare me death
Source: Agencies |
September 19, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A condemned Ohio inmate who weighs 218 kilograms and has a history of difficulty losing weight argues he would face a "torturous and lingering death" if executed in January.
Ronald Post, who shot and killed a hotel clerk in northern Ohio almost 30 years ago, said his weight, vein access, scar tissue, depression and other medical problems raise the likelihood his executioners would encounter severe problems. He's also so big that the execution gurney might not hold him, lawyers for Post said in federal court papers filed last Friday.
Post, 53, is scheduled to die on January 16 for the 1983 shooting death of Helen Vantz.
A spokeswoman for the United States prisons department had no comment on the pending litigation.
Post's attorneys also want more time to pursue arguments that claims of a full confession by the inmate to several people have been falsely exaggerated.
"Post's case is about more than his weight, and his life should be spared for reasons wholly unrelated to his obesity," his federal public defender, Joseph Wilhelm, said in a statement.
Inmates' weight has come up previously in death penalty cases in Ohio and elsewhere.
In 2008, federal courts rejected arguments by condemned double-killer Richard Cooey that he was too obese to die by injection. Cooey's attorneys had argued that prison food and limited opportunities to exercise contributed to a weight problem that would make it difficult for the execution team to find a viable vein for lethal injection.
In 2007, it took Ohio executioners about two hours to insert IVs into the veins of condemned inmate Christopher Newton, who weighed about 120 kilograms. A prison spokeswoman at the time said his size was an issue.
Medical personnel have had a hard time inserting IVs into Post's arms, according to the court filing. Four years ago, an Ohio State University medical center nurse needed three attempts to insert an IV into Post's left arm, the lawyers wrote.
Ronald Post, who shot and killed a hotel clerk in northern Ohio almost 30 years ago, said his weight, vein access, scar tissue, depression and other medical problems raise the likelihood his executioners would encounter severe problems. He's also so big that the execution gurney might not hold him, lawyers for Post said in federal court papers filed last Friday.
Post, 53, is scheduled to die on January 16 for the 1983 shooting death of Helen Vantz.
A spokeswoman for the United States prisons department had no comment on the pending litigation.
Post's attorneys also want more time to pursue arguments that claims of a full confession by the inmate to several people have been falsely exaggerated.
"Post's case is about more than his weight, and his life should be spared for reasons wholly unrelated to his obesity," his federal public defender, Joseph Wilhelm, said in a statement.
Inmates' weight has come up previously in death penalty cases in Ohio and elsewhere.
In 2008, federal courts rejected arguments by condemned double-killer Richard Cooey that he was too obese to die by injection. Cooey's attorneys had argued that prison food and limited opportunities to exercise contributed to a weight problem that would make it difficult for the execution team to find a viable vein for lethal injection.
In 2007, it took Ohio executioners about two hours to insert IVs into the veins of condemned inmate Christopher Newton, who weighed about 120 kilograms. A prison spokeswoman at the time said his size was an issue.
Medical personnel have had a hard time inserting IVs into Post's arms, according to the court filing. Four years ago, an Ohio State University medical center nurse needed three attempts to insert an IV into Post's left arm, the lawyers wrote.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
