COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The decision by Ohio's governor to spare a morbidly obese death row inmate on legal grounds unrelated to his weight means executions will likely carry on in the state next year.
Gov. John Kasich didn't address the claim by inmate Ronald Post that he was too fat to be humanely executed when Kasich granted clemency Monday.
Post, at 450 pounds, had asked federal courts to stop his execution because of his weight but never raised the issue with Kasich.
Law professor and death row attorney Michael Benza says it's unrealistic to think that problems that could arise trying to execute Post weren't in the background of the debate.
Columbus federal judge Gregory Frost has halted executions previously over problems with lethal injection procedures.
