Cincinnati Enquirer articles on Ohio death penalty: The Cincinnati Enquirer has three stories related to the Ohio death penalty in its Sunday edition:

• This article by reporter Jon Craig, entitled "Is death row slowing down? Decision is 'probably the toughest' Strickland faces in job," provides some statements by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland from an Enquirer interview and earlier media reports on how Strickland views his responsiiblity as governor vis-a-vis the death penalty.

Excerpts:
...Strickland, a former prison psychologist, said in an interview last week that he has "serious questions" about capital punishment.

Strickland said he's not considering a moratorium on all executions.

...In the interview, he said he is sympathetic to those suffering mental illness or retardation, but will decide on a case-by-case basis.

...In the interview, Strickland called capital punishment "probably the toughest" issue he faces as governor.

"One of the reasons that I wanted this delay was that I have very, very superficial knowledge of any of these cases,'' he said. "I really don't want my action here to be misinterpreted. These are life and death situations, and it's not something that I felt that I could adequately make a decision about in a compressed period of time.''

He promised to be deliberate but decisive, sensitive but not soft while reviewing death penalty cases.

...Ohio and Kentucky are the latest states with federal lawsuits challenging lethal injection. Lawyers for seven Ohio inmates call it cruel and unusual punishment in a case to be decided soon by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

"The governor has indicated he would be troubled if an execution took place in Ohio and a week later lethal injection was determined to be unconstitutional,'' said Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman.

...In addition to reading hundreds of pages of case files, Taft's legal staff would interview the families of victims and, on occasion, death row inmates. Strickland said his staff is conducting the same kind of thorough review.

...Strickland is Ohio's first Democratic governor since Richard Celeste, who commuted eight death sentences to life in prison as one of his final actions in January 1991. Celeste cited a "disturbing racial pattern" in death sentencing, but also took IQ and mental health into account.

Those issues remain - and remain troubling to Strickland.

Ohio has about two dozen death row inmates claiming they should not be executed because they are mentally retarded. In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, banning all executions of killers with mental retardation, or IQs of 70 or below. "I thought the Supreme Court was absolutely correct in that decision,'' Strickland said. "I don't believe that a person who is mentally retarded, a person who has a documented, serious mental illness should be subject to this penalty. I think there are those circumstances where it is inappropriate." ...

• This article by Dan Horn, entitled "Lethal injection stirs death penalty debate," provides some information on the Ohio lethal-injection challenge case (Cooey v. Taft), currently on hold pending an appeal in the US 6th Circuit Ct of Appeals.

Excerpt:
...Whatever the 6th Circuit does, both sides expect a court to one day rule on the legality of lethal injection in Ohio. The U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed federal challenges to lethal injection to go forward, but the justices did not weigh in on the merits of those challenges.

State officials say Ohio's method is fair and humane, but they say they'd welcome a review of the process by a judge.

"I think that's appropriate," said Jim Canepa, chief of capital crimes for Attorney General Marc Dann. "People need to feel the process is as fair as it can be."

• This article by Jon Craig and Sharon Coolidge, entitled "Inmate's hope fades on death row; Making peace with God is 'all I can do about it,'" is a profile of death-row inmate Cedric Carter, who was interviewed by the Enquirer on Friday.

Excerpt:
...Carter, 33, of West End has been on death row for 15 years for the murder of a convenience store clerk. He is one of 38 convicted killers kept at Mansfield Correctional Institution because of mental health issues.

He doesn't expect to live much longer; his death penalty appeals are nearly exhausted. ...