Ohio killer asks justice to remove self from case

COLUMBUS (AP) — A condemned killer who stabbed his victim more than 100 times, then cut off her hands, has asked the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court to remove herself from the case because she was a prosecutor at the time he was tried.

Brett Hartman is scheduled to die Aug. 16 for the 1997 Akron killing of 46-year-old Winda Snipes.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, who signed the Feb. 8 order scheduling Hartman’s execution, was the chief prosecutor in Summit Count when Hartman was on trial.

Hartman still has appeals before the court and his attorney Michael Benza says judicial rules require O’Connor to excuse herself.

Benza also wants the Ohio Supreme Court to overturn the execution date because O’Connor signed the order.