Federal appellate court says Ohio execution can proceed

CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal appeals court today refused to delay Ohio’s execution of a man convicted in a multistate killing rampage in the early 1990s.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also upheld a district court ruling that John Fautenberry, who is scheduled to die Tuesday, is not entitled to a government-appointed brain specialist to help prove that he killed because of brain damage.

Fautenberry faces execution for the murder of Joseph Daron Jr., 46, of Milford who picked up the hitchhiking Fautenberry in southwest Ohio in February 1991.

The 45-year-old former trucker also was convicted of a murder in Alaska and of manslaughter in New Jersey. In addition, he confessed to two killings in Oregon. All the slayings occurred over five months in late 1990 and early 1991.

Fautenberry’s lawyer, Dennis Sipe, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday. He has said he asked the district court to provide the money to hire a neuropsychologist to bolster Fautenberry’s clemency petition.

The Ohio Board of Parole recommended against clemency late last month, and Gov. Ted Strickland issued his formal denial Wednesday.

Sipe had argued that Fautenberry suffered head injuries as a child, and again as an adult while serving in the Navy.