Post by thinkinkmesa on Mar 31, 2009 16:02:52 GMT -5
State won't appeal delay of Ohio execution
3/31/2009, 3:20 p.m. ET
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state says it won't appeal a court ruling that delays the April execution of a man who says he's innocent.
The offices of the Summit County Prosecutor and Ohio Attorney General say they'll wait for a decision in a related case by the U.S. Supreme Court that could take several weeks.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday a reprieve was appropriate to determine whether Brett Hartmann could succeed with his claim that he did not murder 46-year-old Winda Snipes in 1997.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court granted the delay while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether prisoners have a constitutional right to test DNA evidence in their cases.
A decision is expected this spring.
The 34-year-old Hartmann was scheduled to die by injection April 7.
www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-46/1238513668284240.xml&storylist=topstories