Ohio inmate seeks last-minute execution delay

COLUMBUS (AP) — A condemned killer scheduled to die next week for fatally stabbing a Cleveland woman 17 times is seeking a new trial.

Attorneys for death row inmate Billy Slagle say a jury never had the chance to hear evidence of his violent and chaotic childhood.

The attorneys also say in a filing in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court today that a jury never learned of Slagle’s lack of family support when he tried to beat his drug and alcohol addictions.

Slagle’s lawyers have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to delay his Aug. 7 execution while he pursues the trial request.

Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio Parole Board both rejected the 44-year-old Slagle’s request for mercy in the 1987 killing of neighbor Mari Anne Pope.