Obese Ohio inmate wants execution stopped

COLUMBUS (AP) — A condemned Ohio inmate who weighs at least 480 pounds wants his upcoming execution delayed, saying he’s too heavy for the state’s lethal-injection process.

Ronald Post, who shot and killed a hotel clerk in northern Ohio almost 30 years ago, says his weight, vein access, scar tissue and other medical problems raise the likelihood of severe problems with an execution.

Lawyers for the 53-year-old Post also said in their federal court filing Friday the inmate is so big the execution gurney might not hold him.

Post is scheduled to die Jan. 16 for the 1983 shooting death of hotel desk clerk Helen Vantz in Elyria.