Civil lawsuit seeks to block Ohio man's execution

CINCINNATI (AP) — Attorneys for an Ohio man scheduled to die next week are trying a civil lawsuit in an effort to save him from execution.

Sixty-three-year-old Daniel Bedford was sentenced to death for the 1984 murders of his ex-girlfriend and a man.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the civil suit filed Monday is a rare step. The lawsuit contends Bedford has dementia that leaves him without the mental capacity to understand why he is being executed.

Bedford’s attorneys are asking a Hamilton County judge to block the May 17 execution. A prosecutor says they have been making the same claim for years.

The Ohio Parole Board has denied a bid to commute Bedford’s sentence because of his alleged mental-health problems.