CINCINNATI, Ohio -- A federal appeals court on Friday refused to delay Ohio's execution of a man convicted in a multistate killing rampage in the early 1990s. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also upheld a district court ruling that John Fautenberry, who is scheduled to die Tuesday, is not entitled to a government-appointed brain specialist to help prove that he killed because of brain damage.
Fautenberry faces execution for the murder of Joseph Daron Jr., 46, of Milford who picked up the hitchhiking Fautenberry in southwest Ohio in February 1991. The 45-year-old former trucker also was convicted of a murder in Alaska and of manslaughter in New Jersey. In addition, he confessed to two killings in Oregon. All the slayings occurred over five months in late 1990 and early 1991. Fautenberry's lawyer, Dennis Sipe, said Friday that he planned to refile with the U.S. District in Columbus requesting funding to provide a neuropsychologist to bolster another clemency petition.
The appeals court said Friday that while it could not find that the district court reached the wrong conclusion based on the information it had at the time, Fautenberry did not argue nor provide evidence to the district court that the 1996 evaluation might be outdated 13 years later due to medical advances or changes in his condition. Sipe said he plans to argue that in his latest filing. He pointed to the concurring opinion Friday by Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore. She wrote that while the majority decision was correct, "a current picture of Fautenberry's mental state clearly is important to determining whether he should be executed" and an updated neuropsychological evaluation is "reasonably necessary for his representation."
The Ohio Board of Parole recommended against clemency late last month, and Gov. Ted Strickland issued his formal denial Wednesday. Sipe had argued that Fautenberry suffered head injuries as a child, and again as an adult while serving in the U.S. Navy.
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