Displaying items by tag: US Supreme Court

Akron killer Ronald Phillips is in Lucasville - kept with just a wall and corridor between his cell in the Death House there and the Death Chamber where he's scheduled to recieve a lethal drug cocktail tomorrow.

Phillips, on Death Row for 24 years, is scheduled to die by injection for the 1993 rape and murder of three year old Sheila Marie Evans, the daughter of his then-girlfriend.

Phillips arrived shortly after ten this morning; while his "special meal request" is subject to change, WAKR's Ryan Lang reports he asked for a large cheese, bell pepper and mushroom pizza; strawberry cheesecake; a two-liter bottle of Pepsi; a 10 ounce bottle of grape juice and a piece of unleavened bread.

The U.S. Supreme Court has a bid before it for a stay of execution from critics who are contesting the three-drug mix used for lethal injection as a "humane" form that will minimize pain and suffering for Phillips. Critics are also asking Ohio Governor John Kasich to intervene, citing the drug cocktail isn't proven.

Barring any delays or stay orders from the Court or the Governor, Phillips will be receive the injection tomorrow morning after 10:00.

The so-called "Golden Week" for voting in Ohio won't be happening this year.

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the Ohio Democratic Party to restore the week, which would allow early voting in the same week as registration to vote.

The Ohio Legislature voted to end "Golden Week".

Secretary of State Jon Husted says Ohio laws are "fair and constitutional", and says they make it "easy to vote and hard to cheat".

The state Democratic party says they're "disappointed, but not surprised" at the outcome, and point to the currently eight member court.

Early voting starts in Ohio on October 12th.

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(Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, news release) The Supreme Court of the United States today issued an order in Case Number 16-3561, the Ohio Democratic Party v. Husted in his official capacity as the Ohio Secretary of State, upholding a previous ruling by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The initial suit sought to reverse legislation passed by the Ohio General Assembly setting the start of Ohio's early voting period as the day after the close of voter registration. The following may be attributed directly to Secretary Husted:

"This issue has been dragged through multiple court rooms over the course of several years and every time, it has been sent back with the same message: Ohio's laws are fair and constitutional.

"This much is perfectly clear: Ohio is a place where it is easy to vote and hard to cheat. In fact, with voting now slated to begin in less than a month for the November election, Ohio is one of the easiest states in the nation in which to register and cast your ballot.

"Ohioans want an efficient and secure election and it is time for these wasteful lawsuits to end."

(Ohio Democratic Party, news release) "We're disappointed in the outcome, but we're not surprised given the fact that the Supreme Court is hamstrung with only eight justices because of Republican obstructionism. Our suit clearly laid out -- and a Bush-appointed judge agreed -- that eliminating 'Golden Week' had a discriminatory impact on African-American voters. Ohio Republicans can keep trying to make it harder for people to vote, but we will continue to fight them at every turn. It has been a central value of the Democratic Party that we support greater voter participation -- regardless of party."

Ohio Democrats are trying to restore "Golden Week" for the November election.

The state Democratic Party has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to restore the week that allowed voters to register to vote, and then vote early, on the same day.

The state law was initially struck down, but that decision was overturned.

Without "Golden Week", Ohio's early voting period lasts 28 days.

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(Ohio Democratic Party, news release) The Ohio Democratic Party today filed an application with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the appellate court's ruling and keep "Golden Week" in place for the 2016 election.

"Golden Week is the traditional first week of early voting, when eligible Ohioans can register and cast their ballot in one convenient trip to their county's early voting location," said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper. "Tens of thousands of Ohio voters were able to vote during 'Golden Week' in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, and the Republican Secretary of State acknowledges those elections were clean, fair and fraud-free.

"Ohio Democrats believe -- and after extensive analysis, the district court agreed with us -- that the elimination of Golden Week rendered a discriminatory impact against African-American voters. That's why we are taking this case to the U.S. Supreme Court, to ensure all eligible Ohioans have the ability to exercise their fundamental right to vote in the critical 2016 election. Ohio Democrats will never stop fighting to ensure that every eligible voter is registered, every registered voter is able to vote and every vote is accurately counted."

From the brief filed today:

A stay pending this Court's consideration of a certiorari petition would not materially harm the State while avoiding irreparable injury to Applicants and the public interest at large. It has been over thirteen weeks since the district court ordered that Golden Week proceed and over eleven weeks since the district court denied the State's stay motion "[w]ith respect to the November 8, 2016 general election." App. 173a (Jun. 9, 2016). The State could have asked the Sixth Circuit (or this Court, for that matter) at any time since early June to stay the implementation of Golden Week for the 2016 general election pending further review, but chose not to. Instead, the availability of Golden Week has been heavily publicized and promoted over the past several months and has been expected to begin just over a month from now. Applicants and the public interest at large will be irreparably injured if this decision is allowed to go into effect pending review by this Court, while any harm to the State in allowing the long-scheduled Golden Week to proceed would be negligible at most. The balance of equities tilts decisively in favor of a stay pending consideration by this Court.