Ohio Parole Board rejects mercy for condemned man

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio Parole Board says no mercy should be shown toward a condemned inmate set to die next month for killing a woman who was stabbed more than 100 times, then had her hands cut off.

The eight-member board voted unanimously on today to recommend that Gov. John Kasich deny clemency to 37-year-old Brett Hartman, whose execution is scheduled Aug. 16.

In its decision, the board said Hartman “brutally murdered” 46-year-old Winda Snipes of Akron in 1997. The panel cited what it described as “overwhelming evidence” of Hartman’s guilt.

Hartman came within about a week of being executed in 2009 before a federal appeals court allowed him to pursue an innocence claim.