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Thread: Kenneth W. Smith - Ohio Death Row

  1. #11
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Kenneth Smith Clemency Report

    In a 7-0 vote, the Ohio Parole Board has recommended that executive clemency be denied for Kenneth Smith.

  2. #12
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Judge delays execution of Ohio killer of 2, citing 'haphazard application' of death penalty

    COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal judge on Friday delayed the execution of a condemned Ohio killer of two, agreeing with the inmate that the state enforces some of its execution policies haphazardly.

    Kenneth Smith, 45, was scheduled to be put to death July 19 for killing a husband and wife in their home during a 1995 robbery.

    Smith and other inmates argue that Ohio too often strays from its execution policies by not always having the required number of execution team members present and not always documenting the mixing of drugs.

    Frost agreed, calling four areas where the state strayed from its policies an embarrassment and creating what he called "haphazard application" of its death penalty protocols.

    "Ohio pays lip service to standards it then often ignores without valid reasons, sometimes with no physical ramifications and sometimes with what have been described as messy if not botched executions," Frost wrote.

    If upheld on appeal, Frost's decision would allow Smith to argue in an upcoming trial that the state violates the federal constitution with its uneven application of its rules for executing inmates.

    Frost's ruling did not judge whether Ohio's death penalty itself was constitutional. A message was left with the state attorney general's office regarding an appeal.

    http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/wor...125218319.html

  3. #13
    Senior Member Member Slayer's Avatar
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    Is there still a chance that it will happen on the day?

  4. #14
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Depends if the prosectuors appeal and a higher court overrules the judges decision. Just a guess but I reckon that could well happen with this case, considering the flimsy grounds the stay was issued upon.

  5. #15
    Senior Member Member Slayer's Avatar
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    Thanks!,Ohio seem to be pretty good with their DP cases lately.

  6. #16
    When I heard about Kenneth Smith's execution being delayed by a Federal Judge, it immediately came to my mind that prosecutors would appeal to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to have the stay overturned so the execution could proceed. I was also very confident the 6th Circuit would overturn that stay and allow the execution to go thru just for the very fact that Smith's sentence was originally upheld by the same 3 panel of Judges on that court. Afterall, conservative Judges nearly always uphold death sentences while you have liberals overturn them. Unfortunately in this case, when I checked the 6th Circuit opinion for Mr. Smith's case, his death sentence was upheld by Judges Daughtrey, Moore and Clay. ALL 3 of these Judges are liberals. Each of them have been part of numerous cases where they have voted to throw out many death sentences. It's shocking that a panel like this even voted to uphold Kenneth Smith's death sentence in the first place

    With all this said, I firmly believe the stay will remain in place and if appealed by prosecutors, the 6th circuit will uphold Judge Frost's injunction on executions within the state.

  7. #17
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Judge Frost's stay on Equal Protection Clause grounds seems a bit strange. Does that mean that convicts in a given state who are sentenced to, say, 14 years in prison have to serve their sentences in the same prison and even the same cell block so that their punishments will be exactly equal?

    And what if protocol is not followed to the letter in processing inmates, feeding them, administratively punishing them, etc.? Should they then be resentenced? Seems a bit weird to me. But I suppose "death is different."

  8. #18
    Senior Member Member Slayer's Avatar
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    When we will know if it's going ahead or not?

  9. #19
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    State won't appeal federal judge's order halting scheduled execution

    The state will not appeal a federal judge's order halting Tuesday's scheduled execution of condemned killer Kenneth Smith of Hamilton, Ohio.

    A spokeswoman for Attorney General Mike DeWine said the Republican will not, for the time being, challenge U.S. District Court Judge Gregory L. Frost's decision last week delaying Smith's execution because of what he said was the state's "haphazard application" of lethal injection policies.

    Smith, 45, was to be executed at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville for his role in the slayings of Lewis and Ruth Ray in their home on May 12, 1995.

    Smith's attorneys questioned the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's adherence to its execution policies, specifically regarding the required number of team members present and documentation of the mixing of drugs.

    "Ohio pays lip service to standards it then often ignores without valid reasons, sometimes with no physical ramifications and sometimes with what have been described as messy if not botched executions," Frost decided.

    The ruling could have a far-reaching impact on other death penalty cases pending in Ohio.

    The prisons agency said it feels confident it is consistently following its policies.

    http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...n.html?sid=101

  10. #20
    Senior Member Member Slayer's Avatar
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    Is anybody worried that Ohio is going to get gummed up like CA?

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