E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections via AP
Undated photo of death row inmate Ronald Post
A condemned Ohio inmate who weighs 480 pounds and has a history of difficulty losing weight argues he would face a "torturous and lingering death" if executed in January.
Ronald Post, who shot and killed a hotel clerk in northern Ohio almost 30 years ago, said his weight, vein access, scar tissue, depression and other medical problems raise the likelihood his executioners would encounter severe problems. He's also so big that the execution gurney might not hold him, lawyers for Post said in federal court papers filed Friday.
"Indeed, given his unique physical and medical condition there is a substantial risk that any attempt to execute him will result in serious physical and psychological pain to him, as well as an execution involving a torturous and lingering death," the filing said.
Post, 53, is scheduled to die Jan. 16 for the 1983 shooting death of Helen Vantz in Elyria. The woman worked in a motel Post was robbing, and died after the man shot her twice in the back of the head.
According to The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Vantz's son, William, laughed when he first heard about the request, but immediately turned serious.
"I don't care if they have to wheel him in on a tractor-trailer; 30 years is too long," he said, according to The Plain Dealer. "Enough is enough. This is just an excuse to get out of the execution."
A spokeswoman for the prisons department had no comment on the pending litigation.
Post's attorneys also want more time to pursue arguments that claims of a full confession by the inmate to several people have been falsely exaggerated.
If you think we're fat now, wait until 2030
"Post's case is about more than his weight, and his life should be spared for reasons wholly unrelated to his obesity," his federal public defender, Joseph Wilhelm, said in a statement.
Inmates' weight has come up previously in death penalty cases in Ohio and elsewhere.
In 2008, federal courts rejected arguments by condemned double-killer Richard Cooey that he was too obese to die by injection. Cooey's attorneys had argued that prison food and limited opportunities to exercise contributed to a weight problem that would make it difficult for the execution team to find a viable vein for lethal injection.
Cooey, who was 5-foot-7 and weighed 267 pounds, was executed Oct. 14, 2008.
In 2007, it took Ohio executioners about two hours to insert IVs into the veins of condemned inmate Christopher Newton, who weighed about 265 pounds. A prison spokeswoman at the time said his size was an issue.
In 1994 in Washington state, a federal judge upheld the conviction of Mitchell Rupe, but agreed with Rupe's contention that at more than 400 pounds, he was too heavy to hang because of the risk of decapitation. Rupe argued that hanging would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
After numerous court rulings and a third trial, Rupe was eventually sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2006.
Ohio executes inmates with a single dose of pentobarbital, usually injected through the arms.
Medical personnel have had a hard time inserting IVs into Post's arms, according to the court filing. Four years ago, an Ohio State University medical center nurse needed three attempts to insert an IV into Post's left arm, the lawyers wrote.
Post has tried losing weight, but knee and back problems have made it difficult to exercise, according to his court filing.
Post's request for gastric bypass surgery has been denied, he's been encouraged not to walk because he's at risk for falling, and severe depression has contributed to his inability to limit how much he eats, his filing said.
According to The Plain Dealer, Post's attorneys said his weight has yo-yoed for years. At one point, the paper reported, the 6-foot-3 convict lost 150 pounds. While at the Mansfield Correctional Institution, Post "used that prison's exercise bike until it broke under his weight," according to the filing.
Post currently uses a wheelchair at the Franklin Medical Center in Columbus, The Plain Dealer reported.
In an open letter last year, William Vantz said that he’s still waiting for justice to be served for his mother.
“Some have said that since it’s been so long just let [Post] stay in prison for the remainder of his natural life. No!” William Vantz wrote for the Morning Journal.
"I am as committed to this as the day he took her life. I will never forgive or forget what he took from us. We all have recourse to the law and it’s time he paid his debt to society. It’s way overdue!"
Post's case is unusual, as the man pleaded no contest to the murder charges, The Plain Dealer reported. That means he did not admit to having committed the crime, but chose instead not to challenge the facts presented by the prosecution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Peregrine CEO Wasendorf pleads guilty in $100 million embezzlement scheme
- 7 held, 2 hunted in $165,000 lottery scam targeting elderly
- $7 million in gold found in dead Nevada man's home
- 'I have PTSD ... So what?' Army veteran's essay resonates
- Family saves eight kids from drowning in Oregon lake
- Video: New evidence could clear Army doc of 1970 slayings
Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
There are so many things wrong with the Ohio judical system, I hardly know where to begin!
He was sentenced to death for murder 30 years ago and he is still breathing?! Everyone has a right to a reasonable amount of time for appeal, but 30 years is a slap in the face to his victim's realtives!
What the hell has the State of Ohio been feeding this guy for the last 30 years? Apple pie, ice cream and candy?!
What the hell has the prosecution been doing for the last 30 years? Just because they notched one in the win column 30 years ago doesn't mean that the job is done!
Bring in a vet that has experience putting horses down and be done with it!!
Well I see way that the death row inmates will avoid execution. Just gain a lot of weight.
22 cal long rifle from 20 feet between the eyes. Make this toad stand there. He will drop and die. Case closed. Too fat to be killed. HAHAHA. What a lame excuse.
firing squad ought to work. could the court make a exception for the poor fellow?
Throw a couple of cyanide capsules into his ramon noodles and be done with it....
Solitary confinement for the rest of his life. No human contact whatsoever. Fate worse than death. Oh, wait, just one. Pictures of the people he killed.
So what,,,, a long drawn out death from obesity is his preference? Simple solution-- GUILLOTINE!! A couple of Ambien to help him sleep, then let'r rip.
A firing squad can march to his cell and accomplish the task there.
cut him in half and discard bottom , inject top
Da mn, you all know where we are going when we can't even execute inmates because their fat azzes can't fit into Ole Sparky.....
they make carts that hold up to 700 + plus and the story of 3 attempts .. who care often it takes us medical staff many attempts to establish ivs on pts that are healthy that is nothing new and no f.. ing big deal and if hes worried of the trauma of getting poked several times( although it dosnt compare to getting robed and shot to death) place a picc or central line in him before hand and get on with it.and as far as far as prolonging and suffering we put people his size and bigger under anesthesia all the time with out causing suffering its such a BS story hes sucked 30 yrs off the government and the people who support it so lets get on with it the women he killed and her family didnt get to wait 30 yrs befor she was killed so why him.
Just shoot him in the back of the head that will be quick and painless, problem solved.
When I first heard this I laughed because it's so absurd. Did you kill someone? Were you sentenced to death? Then you deserve to die, and if your weight is going to make that more painful to you then perhaps you shouldn't have commit the crime or shouldn't have let yourself get to 400 pounds. I have a hunch the woman you murdered didnt have a pleasant experience when you shot her twice in the head! You were sentenced to death, so shut up and take it like a man!
Wait....he might suffer a long torturous death....and we should feel bad about this why? He had no regard for the death of this poor woman, why should we have any for him? Really...
How about two rounds to the back of the head, just like he did to his victim!!!
From a purely academic/legal perspective this seems to be based on the precedent of the "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" defense where your teen tries to weasel out of being grounded by being a pain in the butt. But according to the national archive records the Supreme Court traditionally declines hearing cases related to the NNBB defense so we may need to have this one heard for a definitive finding of precedent.
Head shot .47 cents
I'm sure the Liberals have found a reason its Bush's fault.
prisoners get that much food? to weigh 400 lbs.? huh.
Let the victims family execute him by firing squad.This guy shows absolutely no remorse for taking this ladies life.Families of murdr victims should not have to wait 30 years for justice to be served.
Too FAT to execute by lethal injection? Perhaps they are using the wrong instruments of death. A well placed gun shot from a high caliber rifle will do the trick I don't care how fat he is!
There should be exceptions to cases where a FAT person receives the death penality and death by firing squad is but one way to get the job done!
Or a shot to the back of the head from the warden's side arm.
In my personal opinion, when a person violates another person's right, the perpetrator does not deserve any right, especially when he/she takes away another person's life. I feel our judicial system is protecting the criminals than to protecting the victims. We spent so much tax dollars to keep these criminals fed and in good health (TV, gym, etc). Let's put them to work (e.g. fixing road, picking up trash on highway, etc).
As for this fat bastard, go ahead to chop his head off. That will be quick enough for me. LOL.
Don't worry pork chop ,they will find a way.
I wonder how much he weighed when he comitted murder? or when he was convicted?
If they don't go forward with his exicusion then the courts would be making a big mistake. This type of week technicality would just allow other death row inmates to get the same idea to stuff their faces and draw out their sentences as well. I mean seriously I would like to sit on my ass all day eating as much as I want, not working out, watch TV, talk to my friends....yeah they've got it real bad. Kill him and save the good tax paying citizens some money for their own life expenses.
Oh...he's too fat to poison? Maybe they can borrow a guillotine from the French. Or what's wrong with a firing squad? Or hey, even just a bullet to the back of the head. Could drown him. He's probably too big to fit through the trap door so hanging is out. They could just inject him with some kind of sedative and tie a plastic bag over his head when he's asleep too....