Ohio pursues death for convict
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Ohio's lawyers asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to reinstate the death sentence for a prisoner convicted of fatally shooting a Cleveland bar owner during a 1983 robbery.
David Mapes, 50, remains on death row at the state's Mansfield prison while the appeal is pending. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not say when it will rule.
Mapes received the death sentence for his aggravated murder conviction in the shooting of bar owner John Allen during a robbery at the tavern.
Ohio courts upheld Mapes' conviction and sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1999 upheld Mapes' right to argue that his legal representation on an earlier appeal was inadequate and violated his rights.
In July 2001, U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. threw out the death sentence, ruling that Mapes had ineffective legal representation during the appeal.
The Ohio attorney general's office argued Tuesday that Mapes was adequately represented and that his death sentence should be reinstated.
Mapes' lawyers said his previous attorney failed to raise issues including one juror's apparent disagreement with the recommendation of the death sentence. Mapes' lawyers also questioned whether the attorney had read the transcript of his sentencing hearing.
Mapes also was convicted of aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery in connection with the bar holdup. He was sentenced on those charges to serve 14 to 50 years in prison.