COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio is planning its first execution since a U.S. Supreme Court decision ended a national pause on killing inmates.

The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday set an execution date of Oct. 14 for Richard Cooey, who was convicted of raping and murdering two University of Akron students in 1986.

Executions had been put on hold nationally for several months until the U.S. Supreme Court decided in April to allow Kentucky’s lethal injection process that is similar to the one used in Ohio. Opponents argued the procedure is unconstitutionally cruel.

The state Supreme Court on Friday also postponed a previously scheduled September execution for James Were, who still has options to appeal. He was convicted in the death of a prison guard during the 1993 riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.

 

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