Ohio inmate says he’s too obese for execution
AP Legal Affairs Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A condemned Ohio inmate who weighs at least 480 pounds wants his upcoming execution delayed, saying he’s too heavy for the state’s lethal injection process.
Ronald Post shot and killed a hotel clerk in northern Ohio almost 30 years ago. He says his weight, vein access, scar tissue and other medical problems raise the likelihood of severe problems with an execution.
Lawyers for the 53-year-old Post also said in their federal court filing Friday that the inmate is so big the execution gurney might not hold him.
Post is scheduled to die Jan. 16 for the 1983 shooting death of Helen Vantz in Elyria.
A spokeswoman for the prisons department has no comment on the pending litigation.
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