Ohio: State executes man for killing fellow jail inmate

By JoAnne Viviano Associated Press LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio executed a man Tuesday who was waiting to be sentenced for aggravated murder in 1988 when he beat to death a fellow jail inmate after the two argued over what to watch on television. Forty-nine-year-old Clarence Carter died Tuesday morning at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. He was the second inmate killed using the surgical sedative pentobarbital as a stand-alone execution drug. Carter was executed for killing 33-year-old Johnny Allen Jr., who died two weeks after being beaten at the Hamilton County jail in Cincinnati. Investigators say Carter periodically stopped to mop blood from his sneakers during the half-hour assault. Allen was being held on a theft charge. Carter was in the jail waiting to be sentenced on a prior conviction of aggravated murder. He told the Ohio Parole Board in February that the earlier slaying was over drugs, money and documents that had been stolen from a drug operation in which he was involved. Carter's lawyers argued against the execution, claiming Allen's killing was not premeditated, that Allen was a former U.S. Army soldier who likely instigated the fight and that the inmates used as witnesses were unreliable. They said Carter is borderline mentally disabled and that his upbringing was marked by violent role models, including a stepfather who beat him when he stuttered and a cousin who paid him 50 cents to fight other children. Carter spent Monday visiting with his brother, lawyer and two spiritual advisers, praying and reading the Quran, LoParo said. He also took a nap and wrote a note. Among items allowed in his cell were assorted photographs and a skull cap. The parole board ruled unanimously last month against granting clemency, and Gov. John Kasich last week denied him mercy. Former state prisons director Terry Collins, who retired last year, and Cincinnati civil-rights attorney Alphonse Gerhardstein had asked Kasich to spare Carter, saying there was no evidence he planned to kill Allen and that it's "much more likely that this was an inmate fight that got tragically out of hand." In letters to the parole board, Allen's mother and sister said he was unrecognizable after the beating and never regained consciousness and that he has grandchildren he'll never meet. "This was not a fight gone bad, but rather a vicious attack," wrote sister Crystal Miller. Carter had been scheduled for execution in 2007, but was spared by a lawsuit pending at the time that challenged lethal injection. That year, the parole board had voted 6-3 against clemency, with those dissenting saying they were troubled by what appeared to be contradictory or inaccurate testimony by inmate witnesses. Carter's lawyers have said that ruling also incorrectly stated that his first murder victim was a police informant who was going to testify against a friend. Carter's brother, nephew and one of his attorneys attended the execution. Carter looked to see if any of Allen's family members were present. Seeing none, he still delivered an apology. "I'd like to say I'm sorry for what I did, especially to his mother. I ask God for forgiveness and them for forgiveness," he said. He smiled at his brother and appeared to pray as the lethal injection began. After several deep breaths, his eyes closed. He fell silent about a minute into the procedure. Allen's mother did not attend, but released a statement saying she has no animosity against Carter and has forgiven him. "But my forgiveness of him will never ease the pain of the loss of my son," she wrote. LoParo said Carter opted not to have a special meal and was served the same dinner as the other Lucasville inmates, including tuna casserole, wheat bread, oven-browned potatoes, turnip greens, coleslaw, an orange and some juice. He waited to begin eating until after sundown. Published: Wed, Apr 13, 2011