Biros gets death reprieve until March

Gov. Ted Strickland today issued a reprieve of Tuesday’s scheduled execution of Kenneth Biros and two other men who were slated to die next month.

Biros, 48, of Brookfield killed Tami Engstrom of Hubbard on Feb. 8, 1991. He was to be moved this weekend to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville to be executed by lethal injection.

“In order to conduct a review that is as thorough and comprehensive as the previous administration pursued before death penalties were implemented, I have decided to issue reprieves ... " the governor said in a statement.

Biros was scheduled to be executed on Tuesday. That date is now reset to March 20.

James J. Filiaggi was scheduled to be executed on Feb. 13; now April 24.

Christopher J. Newton was to be executed on Feb. 27; now May 24.

"During my tenure as governor, before I allow an execution to proceed, my staff and I will have conducted a comprehensive, thorough and searching review of the case to determine if any exercise of executive clemency is appropriate," Strickland said.

"The brief time I have been governor has not allowed me sufficient time to conduct that type of review and there is not sufficient time before these scheduled executions to complete that type of review."