Ronald Post, Obese Death Row Inmate: 400 Lbs And Ready For Execution, Judge Doesn't Buy It, Lethal Injection Death Still On

Ronald Post will be executed. After claiming that he is too fat to die, a judge ruled that the January execution will still proceed.

Post and his lawyer approached the Ohio Parole legal team while on death row to claim his innocence for the shooting death of Helen Vantz, a hotel clerk in Elyria in 1983. Post claims that he was "complicit in the robbery" and that another man shot the young woman. Post also claims that the scheduled execution would cause him severe pain because of his weight. In his attempt to further delay his death, he claimed that he confessed to several people that he didn't murder Vantz, which had been falsely exaggerated.

In 1984, Post pleaded no contest and wasn't tried. In a filing Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will stated that the board "should consider Post's written admission, made in open court almost thirty years ago, that he, and he alone, was responsible for the crimes against Helen Vantz." 

Post attorney, Rachel Troutman denied anything new was said to the board and that he Post apologized for his involvement. Two witnesses claimed they saw a man alone in the hotel lobby that fit Post's description around the time of the shooting.