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Obese Ohio killer asks parole board for mercy

Published: December 6, 2012 Comment on this article

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A condemned Ohio killer who says he's too obese to be put to death humanely is asking the state parole board for mercy in a claim focusing on his innocence, not his weight.

photo - FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections shows death row inmate Ronald Post. Post, 53, is scheduled to be executed Jan. 16, 2013, for the 1983 shooting death of a hotel desk clerk. Post is trying to stave off execution, arguing that because of his obesity, an attempt to put him to death would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. (AP Photo/Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections, File)

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections shows death row inmate Ronald Post. Post, 53, is scheduled to be executed Jan. 16, 2013, for the 1983 shooting death of a hotel desk clerk. Post is trying to stave off execution, arguing that because of his obesity, an attempt to put him to death would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. (AP Photo/Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections, File)

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Lawyers for 450-pound death row inmate Ronald Post told the board Thursday that claims Post confessed to the 1983 shooting death of Elyria motel clerk Helen Vantz have been falsely exaggerated.

The Lorain County prosecutor says Post told the parole board in an interview last month that he was involved in the robbery that led to the death, but he didn't pull the trigger.

The prosecutor's office disputes that claim.

The 53-year-old Post is scheduled to die next month. His lawyers say he's so fat that executioners won't be able to find veins for the lethal injection.