Death row inmate admits ingesting prescription

COLUMBUS — Death Row inmate Lawrence Reynolds has admitted to prison staff that he took quantities of a prescription drug as part of an overdose that left him unconscious and postponed his scheduled execution by a week.

Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman Julie Walburn said Reynolds remained hospitalized Tuesday morning but was showing signs of improvement and had regained consciousness following the Sunday night incident at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown.

Walburn said it is still not known now Reynolds obtained quantities of the drug prescribed to him. She would not disclose the type of drug, nor how often Reynolds receives doses, citing the inmate’s medical confidentiality.

“The investigation is ongoing,” Walburn said, adding, “We’re looking at all factors surrounding [this incident] as part of the investigation.”

Walburn said no determination had yet been made as to when Reynolds would be returned to prison.

Reynolds was to be transported to the Death House at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville early Monday morning.

But he was found unconscious in his Death Row cell at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday and was transported by ambulance to the St. Elizabeth Health Center.

Gov. Ted Strickland denied clemency for Reynolds Monday but did issue a seven-day reprieve, postponing his scheduled execution for a week. He is now set to be executed next Tuesday.

In January 1994, Reynolds conned his way into the Cuyahoga Falls home of Loretta Mae Foster, a 67-year-old neighbor. He beat her with a tent pole, tied her up with a telephone cord and strangled her to death.

Reynolds took about $40 in cash and a blank check belonging to the victim; Foster’s nude body was later found on the floor of her house, after Reynolds bragged to friends about the killing. He was convicted for murder, kidnapping, burglary and attempted rape and sentenced to death.