14 DAY TRIAL // Ohio Governor John Kasich has granted condemned killer Ronald Post clemency, reports say. Post previously made headlines for presenting his case on his weight impeding a humane execution.
As we have already reported, Post, who weighs 450 pounds, had brought his obesity as an argument against execution, claiming it would cause him a "torturous and lingering death." His latest appeal, however, centered on his legal representation during the trial.
The prosecution had argued that he killed Elyria motel clerk Helen Vantz, during a robbery in 1983. Post first claimed he had planned the robbery with 2 accomplices, however backed out at the last moment and found out from the media that the clerk had been killed.
Prosecutors told the court that he had confessed to the murder on several occasions; yet, it was proven that he only told a police informant he was involved in the crime. He did, however, mention to him that he was the getaway driver that night.
He was spared execution because his lawyers at the time failed to present evidence to the court, or bring forward certain provisions in the law which would have helped Post.
“The death penalty should be reserved for cases where proof of guilt is reliable and the legal system produced a just result. [...] Neither criteria is met in this case,” his current public defenders Joe Wilhelm and Rachel Troutman argue.
The explained that the parole board and judge Kasich “rightly recognized that, in cases in which the state seeks to execute one of its citizens, our justice system simply must work better than it did in Mr. Post's case.”
However, the judge did not rule on Post's innocence, instead awarded him life in prison without the option of parole, WLWT informs.
“This decision should not be viewed by anyone as diminishing this awful crime or the pain it has caused,” Kasich says.