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Concerned he may not have adequate time after taking office to make life-or-death clemency decisions about pending executions, incoming Gov. Ted Strickland suggested yesterday that he may have to delay them.
The execution of Kenneth Biros, set for Jan. 23, already is on hold because of a federal judge’s order. But Strickland said if that stay is lifted, he’ll likely need more time to review the case before deciding whether to allow the execution to proceed.
"I want to make absolutely sure that I have enough time to approach this in a deliberative, thoughtful manner, and I think it is the only responsible thing to do given the circumstances of the timeline here," Strickland said.
Two more Ohio executions are scheduled for February, but Strickland said he hasn’t made any decisions on those cases.
Strickland, a Democrat who supports the death penalty, said he also has concerns about recent court rulings questioning whether executions by lethal injection — the method used in Ohio and most other states — are cruel and unusual punishment.
"I would hate for someone to be executed on a Wednesday and then on the following Thursday for the court to say that we had just employed an unconstitutional method of doing that," Strickland said.
The governor-elect said he has not reached any conclusions about whether he would consider delaying an execution on those grounds but would like more guidance from the courts.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, recently cited similar concerns in imposing a temporary moratorium.
Strickland, who takes office Monday, said attorneys for outgoing Gov. Bob Taft told Kent Markus, Strickland’s new top attorney, that it took Taft’s office weeks to conduct interviews and review documents before deciding a clemency case.
Ohio’s governor has unlimited executive clemency power to grant temporary reprieves, such as he would in this case, to stop an execution altogether or to allow it to go forward. The only requirement is that the governor must have a nonbinding recommendation from the Ohio Parole Board.
A board recommendation in Biros’ case will be sent to Strickland on Wednesday, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
The Ohio Supreme Court scheduled these executions for Strickland’s first two months on the job:
• Biros, 48, of Trumbull County, is to be executed for the Feb. 7, 1991, mutilationslaying of 22-year-old Tami Engstrom.
• James Filiaggi, 41, of Lorain County, is to die Feb. 13 for the 1994 murder of his wife, Lisa.
• Christopher J. Newton, 37, of Richland County, is to be lethally injected Feb. 27 for murdering Jason Brewer, his cellmate at the Mansfield Correctional Institution.
Of the three condemned men, only Biros has a stay of execution, granted Dec. 21 by U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.
However, a stay is no guarantee of avoiding the executioner.
Cult-killer Jeffery Lundgren’s execution was postponed by Frost, but the ruling was reversed by the 6 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals about 3 a.m. on Oct. 24. Lundgren was executed seven hours later.
Ohio has had 24 executions, all under Taft’s watch, since 1999.
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