Ohio Carries Out 4th Execution of 2011

The 16th Execution of 2011

Daniel Lee Bedford was put to death on May 17, 2011 by lethal injection for a double homicide in Cincinnati in 1984, according to Rueters. Bedford's attorneys had argued for clemency, citing dementia and mental retardation.

A federal judge had granted Bedford a stay of execution Monday, but the stay was lifted by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal.

Bedford was convicted of shooting to death his ex-girlfriend Gwen Toepfert and her boyfriend John Smith. Although, Bedford told the state parole board in March that he does not remember the slayings.

For his last meal, Bedford did not request a special meal, but had the regularly scheduled prison meal of an orange, graham crackers, turnip greens, oven-brown potatoes and wheat bread. He received a two-liter bottle of cola as a special request, according to Reuters.

Bedford said "love you" to his daughter, Michelle, before his death, and "God bless you" to all witnesses present, reported Reuters. Bedford was 63 years old. He was the oldest person executed in Ohio since the state resumed administering capital punishment in 1999.

Bedfrod was the fourth execution carried out in Ohio in 2011. Ohio leads the nation in executions so far this year.

To read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/17/us-execution-ohio-idUSTRE74G59T20110517