Posted on 12/15/2006 5:55:50 AM PST by theothercheek
The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously rejected an appeal from death row inmate Phillip E. Elmore, whose lawyers argued that the jury was anxious to reach a verdict quickly because the judge disallowed cigarette breaks during deliberations. Only one member of the jury was a smoker and Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, who authored the opinion, noted that "There is no support in the record for Elmore's claim that the juror who wished to smoke was under any additional stress occasioned by 'mentally wanting, and physically needing to smoke tobacco."' Elmore bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend to death, on her son's wedding day. The jury needed just six hours to convict Elmore and another three hours to recommend his execution.
NOTE: This is the second item in a feature called "The Daily Blade," and appears underneath an article about Sen. Tim Johnson titled, "There’s Many A Slip ‘Twixt The Cup And The Lip." The original source includes a link to a relevant article.
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