Kasich denies clemency to inmate

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Gov. John Kasich on Friday rejected a request for mercy from a death row inmate, paving the way for the state to become the first to execute a prisoner solely with an anesthetic used for assisted suicides and medically induced comas.

The Republican governor denied the request by Johnnie Baston, 37, who’s scheduled to die Thursday for killing Chong-Hoon Mah, a South Korean immigrant who operated retail stores in Toledo. The victim’s family opposes the death penalty and the execution.

The Ohio Parole Board last month recommended against clemency, saying the execution-style killing and Baston’s failure to accept responsibility outweigh the family’s beliefs. The board also said Baston continues to suggest he may have been involved in the crime but didn’t kill Mah, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

The request for clemency was the final challenge remaining to Baston’s execution, said Amy Borror, a spokeswoman for the Ohio public defender’s office.