COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has delayed the execution of an inmate sentenced to die in the slayings of fellow inmates during a 1993 prison riot for three years.
Keith LaMar was convicted of aggravated murder in 1995 for the deaths of five inmates during a riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution in Lucasville. He received the death penalty for four of the killings.
The high court on Thursday moved his execution date from Nov. 16, 2023, to Jan. 13, 2027.
Lamar’s lawyers have argued the only evidence against the 54-year-old prisoner came from inmates that authorities never corroborated, and that further proof of his innocence was withheld.
His reprieve comes amid an unofficial death penalty moratorium in the state, which Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has attributed to the state’s ongoing inability to obtain drugs from pharmaceutical companies.
Ohio's execution schedule is now pushed out until late 2026.
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