OHIO - inmate seeks to drop appeals

MANCI death row inmate wants to drop appeals

A death row inmate has asked his attorneys to stop fighting for him, which would make him the second in 5 years to voluntarily abandon court appeals to speed his execution.

A Mahoning County judge ruled this week that Stephen Vrabel of suburban Youngstown is competent to drop his appeals.

"He's going to get his wish - suicide by state," former defense attorney Paul Gains said Thursday.

Gains, now the Mahoning County prosecutor, said he can't pursue the case because he once represented Vrabel. The Ohio attorney general's office is taking over, spokeswoman Kim Norris said.

Vrabel was convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend, Susan Clemente, and 3-year-old daughter, Lisa, in 1989, then stuffing their bodies in a refrigerator and freezer.

The competency ruling on Wednesday by Common Pleas Judge Scott Krichbaum followed a decision last year by the Ohio Supreme Court to halt Vrabel's September execution and send the case back for the evaluation.

Experts hired by prosecutors and the state public defender's office both said Vrabel was competent to drop his appeals. As a result, Vrabel's attorneys asked Krichbaum to waive a requirement that they also hire an expert to assess Vrabel. The judge agreed.

Vrabel's lawyer, John Juhasz of Youngstown, said Vrabel himself filed the paperwork to halt his appeals.

"This is what he wanted," Juhasz said. "Our job was simply to try to follow his wishes."

The Supreme Court would set Vrabel's execution date after the county court completed administrative requirements in the case, Norris said, adding she couldn't speculate when that would happen.

When Ohio resumed using the death penalty in 1999, Wilford Berry was called "The Volunteer" because he dropped his appeals to become the 1st inmate executed.

Convicted killer William Wickline of Columbus is scheduled later this month to be the 11th inmate executed in 5 years.

STEPHEN ALLEN VRABEL

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