Ohio court rejects delay for death row inmate

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS AP Legal Affairs Writer Published:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected a request to delay the execution of a condemned killer of two to allow a lower court to hold a hearing on whether he is so mentally ill that he should not be put to death.

Lawyers for Abdul Awkal (ab-DUHL' AW'-kuhl) say their client believes the CIA is orchestrating his execution and that he lives in a fantasy world where he is crucial to the country's Mideast war effort.

The attorneys want the execution delayed while courts determine his competency, and note a Cuyahoga County judge on Monday ruled there is evidence that Awkal is insane.

The state Supreme Court rejected the request 5-2 Tuesday.



A man convicted in the slayings of his estranged wife and brother-in-law at a Cleveland courthouse was in good spirits Tuesday at the southern Ohio prison where he was scheduled to be executed in less than 24 hours.








Awkal was to receive the meal after his visits with a lawyer and a friend ended around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"He appears to be in very good spirits, laughing and talking with execution team members," prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said Tuesday.





