Killer asks for time to prove his innocence

Associated Press

A convicted killer scheduled to die next month has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to delay his execution, alleging that a jailhouse informant committed perjury.

Brett Hartmann said a motion filed Friday that he needs time to gather evidence of the alleged perjury and test other evidence he says will prove his innocence.

The motion also asks the court to delay the execution to allow Hartmann time to demonstrate that Ohio’s method of lethal injection is unconstitutional.

Hartmann is scheduled to die April 7 for the fatal stabbing and mutilation of 46-year-old Wanda Snipes in Akron on Sept. 9, 1997. Documents and legal filings in the case refer to the inmate as Hartman, but he has said his name is Hartmann.