Ohio moves condemned inmate Mitts to death house

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio man sentenced to die for killing two men during a 1994 shooting spree was moved to the state’s death house today, a day ahead of his scheduled execution.

Harry Mitts Jr., 61, arrived at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville around 10:30 a.m., a prisons spokeswoman said. He was placed under constant surveillance last Wednesday — well ahead of the usual 72-hour suicide watch window — in the wake of two high-profile inmate suicides.

Mitts received the death penalty in the killings of John Bryant and Garfield Heights police Sgt. Dennis Glivar. During an outburst at an apartment, Mitts uttered racial slurs before shooting Bryant, who was black, then fired on two police officers responding to the scene, killing Glivar and wounding the other officer.

Atty. Jeff Kelleher said Mitts has taken responsibility for his actions.

“He’s been completely forthright and repentant about his crimes, has never denied he did them, has never tried to soften them or explain them away,” Kelleher said. “He’s been, in every sense of the word, fully accepting of his deeds. That’s not an issue.”

Prosecutors argued that Mitts’ attack was among the worst Ohio has seen, resulting in two deaths, multiple shootings and additional death threats.