Convicted killer says he’s too fat to be executed
Ronald Post, who may or may not be wearing makeup. (AP)
A convicted killer who became “morbidly obese” in prison says he’s now too fat to be executed.
Ronald Post, who pleaded guilty in 1985 to killing a hotel clerk in Ohio, now weighs almost 500 pounds. He is scheduled to be executed in January, but has filed papers in federal court arguing his death by lethal injection would create severe problems for executioners.
First of all, his thick layer of fat would make it difficult of doctors to find a vein. Ohio executes inmates with a single dose of pentobarbital, usually injected through the arms.
And then there’s the matter of the flimsy metal gurneys. Post thinks his immense girth would break those.
“Indeed, given his unique physical and medical condition there is a substantial risk that any attempt to execute him will result in serious physical and psychological pain to him, as well as an execution involving a torturous and lingering death,” the federal filing said.
Post, 53, has tried to lose weight. His request for gastric bypass surgery was denied. He’s been encouraged not to walk because he’s at risk for falling, and severe depression has contributed to his inability to limit how much he eats, his filing said.
While at the Mansfield Correctional Institution, Post “used that prison’s exercise bike until it broke under his weight,” according to the filing. He now uses a wheelchair.
Post killed Slumber Inn hotel clerk Helen Grace Vantz Dec. 15, 1983, in Elyria, Ohio. He shot the 53-year-old woman in the back of the head twice and escaped with $100 and a 13-inch black and white TV set.
Vantz’s son, William, laughed Monday when he heard about Post’s request, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Then he became serious.
“I don’t care if they have to wheel him in on a tractor-trailer; 30 years is too long,” William Vantz said.
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139 comments Add your comment
Matthew
September 18th, 2012
12:12 pm
Why not send him to Afghanistan to protect our FOB’s? He could do a bang up job of deflecting shrapnel from an IED, or suicide bomber. Like a giant wall of felon.
John
September 18th, 2012
12:13 pm
I think this guy should worry less about the challenges of the penal system and more about answering to the big man upstairs when he arrives.
Renee
September 18th, 2012
12:14 pm
Why did it take almost 30 years for this monster to get what should be coming to him. In other countries it only takes 24 hrs.
AnnaBanana
September 18th, 2012
12:14 pm
I am willing to bet he gained all that weight on purpose for this exact reason. Prisoners have to be found in good health to be able to be executed. I don’t give a rat’s patootie how fat he is, he should be put to death. There are provisional tactics they can use to still get the job done no matter how big he is. Unfortunately, Cruel & Unusual Punishment can be used in a wide variety of ways and this iis just another one. There are prisoners all over the country, filing lawsuits under that reason, simply because they got crunchy peanut butter and wanted creamy, or they didn’t get dessert. Everyone should do the research in their state to see how much money is being spent on these wasted, fraudulent claims.
CharlesKayeMBA
September 18th, 2012
12:16 pm
A round from a .357 would definitely penetrate his fat head.
LUPE G
September 18th, 2012
12:16 pm
WHAT A DISGUSTING SLOB!!
Marik
September 18th, 2012
12:23 pm
Why exactly is he being executed. The whole kill a killer is circular logic that has done nothing to lower the crime rate in this country. People like this should be forced to do disaster cleanup with electronic location tracking devices and electroshock devices designed to keep them “domestic”. What a waste. Murder is murder whether the state does it or not. And for the person who posted the comment about the man upstairs………….THERE IS NO APE UPSTAIRS…K…IF THEIR WAS AND HE LET PEOPLE LIKE THIS COMMIT THE CRIMES THEY DO HE IS COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT, MASOCHISTIC AND DESERVES NOTHING BUT OUR BACKSIDES IN HIS HOUSE OF WARSHIP!
chuck
September 18th, 2012
12:24 pm
How in the heck can this guy just eat whatever he wants all day? To gain that kind of weight and sustain it your caloric intake has to be incredible. What is this prisons problem?
Nikos
September 18th, 2012
12:24 pm
Smart move. If he succeeds, he can stay there for life and splurge on loaded platters for free until death do him apart! And he won’t have to ask for a check. The taxpayers pay for!
Brian
September 18th, 2012
12:27 pm
I see many cases where the victims fail to receive the level of justice provided to the criminals. In the end, the punishment does not fit the crime. Most important, we should not be worried about the pain inflicted on the criminal. There us nothing inhumane about using a needle to puncture through the thick layer of skin or worrying if the gurney will buckle due to severe obesity. Gastric bypass surgery, are you kidding me!! If slow roasting him on a rotisserie does not burn the fat, I say shoot him in back of the head twice just like he did to the hotel clerk!