Ohio Supreme Court hears arguments in condemned killer’s DNA appeal

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments today on an appeal involving a death row inmate who sought DNA testing on a cigarette butt found near the scene of the 1990 double murder that led to his sentence.

At issue in Tyrone Noling’s case is whether there is a constitutional appeals process for death row prisoners who have requests for DNA testing denied after a trial is over. A decision from the court could take months.

Noling was convicted of killing Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, both 81, at their Portage County home in 1990, but he maintains his innocence.

Noling was part of a group involved in home robberies of elderly couples. Three others in the group implicated Noling in the slayings of the Hartigs during a burglary, although they later retracted their statements, saying they had been pressured by police to name Noling as the shooter.