Obese Inmate, An eight-member Ohio Parole Board has voted 5-3 to
recommend to Governor John Kasich that clemency be granted in the case
of obese death row inmate, Ronald Post, and that his sentence be changed
to life without the possibility of parole.
The ruling did not, however, state Post’s weight as being the reason for
recommending mercy on him. Rather, the board questioned his legal
representation.
Post, 53, was convicted in the 1983 murder of Helen Vantz, who worked as a hotel clerk at the
Slumber Inn in Elyria.
According to prosecutors, Post had visited the hotel with two other men,
and then he returned alone. When Vantz let him in, Post shot her twice
in the head and robbed her of $100.
Lawyers for Post say reports of his confession in the killing have been
exaggerated. They also questioned how his original attorneys handled his
no contest plea.
Post has argued he’s too big to be put to death. He weighs more than 480
pounds and doesn’t believe a needle would work or that gurneys would
hold him. He said a request for bypass surgery was denied.
He is scheduled to die Jan. 16. Kasich has until then to decide Post’s fate.
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