Ohio executes Harry Mitts Jr.

Harry Mitts Jr.

Harry Mitts Jr. executed by lethal injection this morning at Lucasville, following 20 years in prison

A WHITE gunman who spewed racial slurs before fatally shooting a black man and a police officer in a 1994 rampage that prosecutors called one of the worst Ohio has seen was executed Wednesday with the state's last use of its execution drug.

Harry Mitts Jr. asked the families of his victims to forgive him, saying he had carried the burden of his crimes with him for 19 years.

"I had no business doing what I did," he said in a last statement to six witnesses representing his victims. Two clergy members and a friend were also in attendance.

Mitts, 61, was pronounced dead at 10.39am by lethal injection of the powerful sedative pentobarbital at the state prison in Lucasville, Ohio after years of acknowledging his crimes and repenting. The state's supply of pentobarbital is expiring, and a new execution method will be announced later.

Mitts was convicted of aggravated murder and attempted murder in the August 1994 rampage against random neighbours and responding police officers at his apartment complex in a Cleveland suburb.

The Ohio Parole Board and Republican Governor John Kasich had denied Mitts' pleas for mercy.

Mitts, at his clemency hearing, had pointed to a virtually clean record before and after the day of the shootings and said he had found God in prison. After his conviction, he spoke of receiving a Bible from Glivar's mother and sister and a letter expressing their forgiveness and urging him to seek repentance.

Mitts told the Ohio Parole Board he had drunk heavily because he was distraught over his divorce and had likely shot Bryant to draw police to his home in hopes they would shoot and kill him. He said he wasn't a racist and didn't remember directing racial slurs at Bryant before shooting him. He said he couldn't say why he didn't shoot two white neighbours he encountered ahead of Bryant.

Prosecutors argued that, with the murders, multiple shootings and additional death threats carried out that day, Mitts "exhibited complete disregard for the lives of officers and innocent bystanders at the scene."

"That further tragedy did not result from the bedlam that Mitts created on August 14, 1994, is in many respects a miracle," a clemency report said.

With Ohio's supply of pentobarbital expiring, the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has said it expects to announce its new execution method by Oct. 4. Pentobarbital is no longer available because its manufacturer has put it off limits to states for executions.

Source: AP, September 25, 2013

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an execution warrant for 74-year-old prisoner William “Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital to the hospice wing of the prison. After his attorneys raised serious concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating physical health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to temporarily stay the execution so Mr. Thompson’s competency can be evaluated on October 1. If he is found competent, his execution remains scheduled for October 13.

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death. Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months.

Texas House chairman wants child rapists eligible for death penalty

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Under current Supreme Court precedent, states cannot execute someone for raping a child if the victim survives. That’s not stopping State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-McKinney. “We’re going to have a debate in this building behind me about the death penalty being on the table for any Texan who rapes a child,” Leach, the chair of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, said. Leach made the comments while hosting a news conference supporting his client, abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire.

Israel | Ben Gvir discusses death penalty for Neveh Tzuf terrorist hours before Yom Kippur

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the Neveh Tzuf terrorist during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two hours before the start of Yom Kippur on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the terrorist responsible for the attack in Neveh Tzuf during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had reportedly convened the meeting in response to the security situation in the West Bank following the Sunday terror attack.

Texas set to execute second man convicted in 2005 South Texas triple murder

Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey is scheduled to die Wednesday, one week after the state executed his co-defendant for the same killings. Texas is scheduled to execute a man on Wednesday for the 2005 shooting deaths of three people during a botched robbery in a small South Texas town, just one week after the state put his co-defendant to death for the same crime. Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey, 41, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

Tennessee Supreme Court denies stay for death row inmate Christa Pike

(TNND) — As Tennessee prepares for a Sept. 30 execution, the Tennessee Supreme Court has denied death row inmate Christa Gail Pike’s request to stop it. The court rejected Pike’s challenge to the state’s lethal-injection protocol, finding that her thrombocytosis diagnosis, a condition involving elevated blood platelets, did not show the execution would violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Florida | Tomasz Kosowski found guilty of murder after representing himself in death penalty case

Tomasz Kosowski sat each day alone at the defense table, wearing orange jail garb and rubber sandals with socks. In a rare and largely unprecedented move for a death penalty case, Kosowski represented himself, waiving his right to a jury trial and allowing a judge in Pinellas County, Florida, to decide his fate. Prosecutors presented the state’s case over six days, laying out for the judge how the former plastic surgeon accosted Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of his law office on a Tuesday morning, and Cozzi was never seen again.

Philippines | President Marcos Grants Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso

President Marcos Confirms Decision to Grant Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso after more than a decade. On Friday (September 25, 2026), the President confirmed the decision during a visit to Guiuan, Eastern Samar. According to him, the pardon was officially signed the previous day, marking a major development in the case.

Tennessee | Christa Pike Requests Clemency Ahead of September 30 Execution Date; Experts’ Amicus Brief Points to ‘Substantial Risk’ of Re-traumatization

Lawyers for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, filed a 226-page clemency petition with Governor Bill Lee, asking him to commute her death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole ahead of her September 30 execution date. Ms. Pike’s clemency petition outlines the case her team has built over decades of appeals: her actions at 18 years old cannot be separated from a childhood marked by repeated rape, sexual abuse, and neglect that went unaddressed by the adults and state systems meant to protect her. Once incarcerated, Ms. Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed." SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog