Post by thinkinkmesa on Feb 9, 2011 10:52:07 GMT -5
Hartmann's execution date set again
Man convicted in 1997 killing still appealing for DNA test
An August execution date has been set for convicted killer Brett Hartmann, an Akron man who came within a week of dying in 2009 before a federal court intervened.
Hartmann, who maintains his innocence and is seeking more DNA testing, was one of seven Ohio inmates given execution dates Tuesday by the state Supreme Court.
Ohio is now scheduled to execute one inmate each month through October.
In addition to the seven dates announced Tuesday, executions have already been scheduled next week for Cuyahoga County inmate Frank Spisak and Johnnie Baston of Lucas County in March.
One of Hartmann's attorneys expressed disappointment Tuesday in the setting of a new date. He said Hartmann still has appeals pending in state courts.
Hartmann, who has been on Death Row since 1998, is set to die Aug. 16 inside the Southern Ohio Correctional
Facility near Lucasville.
He was convicted at trial in the 1997 rape and murder of Winda Snipes, 47.
The Highland Square woman was found nude, beaten and strangled inside her apartment. Her hands had been severed and have never been recovered.
Michael Benza, a Cleveland attorney representing Hartmann in his appeals, said the Supreme Court has yet to rule on requests for additional DNA testing.
''We're disappointed that they set a date,'' Benza said. ''And as we have said, before you kill somebody, you should you make sure all the evidence in the case is examined.''
Hartmann was to be executed in April 2009 until three members of the the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay while it reviewed his request for additional DNA testing.
The court cited ''uncertainty'' in Hartmann's case as a reason for granting him a stay a week before the scheduled execution.
Later that year, a full appellate court found Hartmann's argument that more DNA testing would prove his innocence ''debatable.''
Without a court order, Hartmann cannot have the evidence tested.
Prosecutors contend that Hartmann, 36, already has been given DNA testing by a federal judge and those results only further linked him to the slaying.
Defense attorneys, however, want more testing on hairs and fingerprints from the scene. They contend the prints point to another suspect.
Hartmann learned at a clemency hearing in 2009 that Akron police considered Snipes' former boyfriend as a suspect in the slaying.
A detective conceded he never obtained an alibi from the Akron man despite reports that he threatened to kill Snipes in the weeks leading up to her death.
In addition, Hartmann learned through the Beacon Journal that a jail inmate might have confided to his attorney that he lied when he testified to jurors that Hartmann confessed to the slaying.
Hartmann's attorneys are seeking a court order that would force attorney Tom Adgate to waive his attorney-client privilege and divulge his knowledge about the inmate-witness's testimony.
The state's execution schedule comes two weeks after Ohio tweaked its execution method in response to low supplies of sodium thiopental, the drug that renders the inmate dead.
That drug, which will no longer be produced by a major supplier, will be used for Spisak's execution. Afterward, the state's execution team will use pentobarbital.
To comment;
www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/115622584.html
Man convicted in 1997 killing still appealing for DNA test
An August execution date has been set for convicted killer Brett Hartmann, an Akron man who came within a week of dying in 2009 before a federal court intervened.
Hartmann, who maintains his innocence and is seeking more DNA testing, was one of seven Ohio inmates given execution dates Tuesday by the state Supreme Court.
Ohio is now scheduled to execute one inmate each month through October.
In addition to the seven dates announced Tuesday, executions have already been scheduled next week for Cuyahoga County inmate Frank Spisak and Johnnie Baston of Lucas County in March.
One of Hartmann's attorneys expressed disappointment Tuesday in the setting of a new date. He said Hartmann still has appeals pending in state courts.
Hartmann, who has been on Death Row since 1998, is set to die Aug. 16 inside the Southern Ohio Correctional
Facility near Lucasville.
He was convicted at trial in the 1997 rape and murder of Winda Snipes, 47.
The Highland Square woman was found nude, beaten and strangled inside her apartment. Her hands had been severed and have never been recovered.
Michael Benza, a Cleveland attorney representing Hartmann in his appeals, said the Supreme Court has yet to rule on requests for additional DNA testing.
''We're disappointed that they set a date,'' Benza said. ''And as we have said, before you kill somebody, you should you make sure all the evidence in the case is examined.''
Hartmann was to be executed in April 2009 until three members of the the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay while it reviewed his request for additional DNA testing.
The court cited ''uncertainty'' in Hartmann's case as a reason for granting him a stay a week before the scheduled execution.
Later that year, a full appellate court found Hartmann's argument that more DNA testing would prove his innocence ''debatable.''
Without a court order, Hartmann cannot have the evidence tested.
Prosecutors contend that Hartmann, 36, already has been given DNA testing by a federal judge and those results only further linked him to the slaying.
Defense attorneys, however, want more testing on hairs and fingerprints from the scene. They contend the prints point to another suspect.
Hartmann learned at a clemency hearing in 2009 that Akron police considered Snipes' former boyfriend as a suspect in the slaying.
A detective conceded he never obtained an alibi from the Akron man despite reports that he threatened to kill Snipes in the weeks leading up to her death.
In addition, Hartmann learned through the Beacon Journal that a jail inmate might have confided to his attorney that he lied when he testified to jurors that Hartmann confessed to the slaying.
Hartmann's attorneys are seeking a court order that would force attorney Tom Adgate to waive his attorney-client privilege and divulge his knowledge about the inmate-witness's testimony.
The state's execution schedule comes two weeks after Ohio tweaked its execution method in response to low supplies of sodium thiopental, the drug that renders the inmate dead.
That drug, which will no longer be produced by a major supplier, will be used for Spisak's execution. Afterward, the state's execution team will use pentobarbital.
To comment;
www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/115622584.html