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| Ohio Inmate Sentenced to Death Second Time for Killing Officer |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/10/2003 |
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An inmate was given the death sentence a second time for helping kill an officer during the 1993 Lucasville prison riot. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Fred Cartolano accepted a jury's recommendation to execute James Were, 46, of Toledo. The judge set an Oct. 4 execution, but the sentence will be delayed by automatic appeals in death-penalty cases. A jury convicted Were of kidnapping and two counts of aggravated murder last month for his part in the death of officer Robert Vallandingham. Were had been convicted in 1995 and sentenced to die for Vallandingham's death. But the Ohio Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year, ruling that Were had not been given a hearing to determine whether he was mentally competent for trial. During Were's second trial, Cartolano rejected defense arguments that he is mildly retarded. Were's lawyers argued that would make him exempt from the death penalty. Three other inmates have been convicted of murder in the strangulation of Vallandingham, and two are awaiting execution. The third received a life term for that slaying but was sentenced to death in the murder of two inmates. |
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