COLUMBUS -The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday set death sentence dates for a man who shot four people in a drug territory dispute and the state's fourth volunteer for execution.
Herman Ashworth is to be executed by lethal injection Sept. 27 after telling a judge he deserves to be killed for beating a man to death in 1996.
William J. Williams Jr., 48, was convicted of shooting in the head three men he had heard were dealing drugs in his former territory at a Youngstown housing project and a friend who dropped by their apartment that day in 1991. His execution is set for Oct. 25.
Ashworth, 32, was convicted in the beating of Daniel Baker in 1996 in an alley in Newark, about 30 miles east of Columbus. He wrote to U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus in June that he was guilty and always believed the price for taking a life is death.
Ashworth's attorneys, who oppose the death penalty, withdrew from the case but said they would help him with legal matters if he asks. He follows Wilford Berry, Stephen Vrabel and Scott Mink in dropping their appeals to speed up their death sentences. Berry was executed in 1999, Mink and Vrabel last July.
Ohio justices had upheld Williams' conviction and death sentence in 1997, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal in April. A message seeking comment was left with his Cleveland attorney, John Gibbons.
Williams escaped custody before he was tried, then took a receptionist and officer hostage at the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center in an alleged attempt to kill three juveniles who helped him with the slayings and agreed to testify against him.
His trial was moved to Summit County because of pretrial publicity. He was convicted on 17 counts, including aggravated murder and kidnapping.
His appeals had centered on two jurors who concealed their views on the death penalty. But courts upheld the death sentence, saying the jurors' views did not affect their ability to be impartial.
Ohio has put 16 men to death, including seven last year, since resuming executions in 1999 with Berry. One other execution is set this fall, John Spirko, one week before Ashworth.
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