COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A death row inmate who says he’s too fat to be executed received poor legal help during his trial and later when he appealed the death sentence, his lawyers said Monday during a clemency hearing.

It’s the second time that Richard Cooey, convicted of killing two University of Akron students in 1986, has asked the state for mercy. In a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month, his lawyers said executioners would have trouble finding Cooey’s veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs.

Cooey stands 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 267 pounds.

His lawyers said Monday that Cooey’s original lawyer didn’t properly present evidence about the effect of beatings Cooey received as a child as well as the impact of Cooey’s alcohol abuse.

Cooey, 41, isn’t the same person who committed the murders and is remorseful to the point of self-loathing, defense attorney Dana Cole of Akron told the Ohio Parole Board.

Parole Board member Sandra Mack questioned whether Cooey has ever acknowledged his role in the crimes.

“This just does not sound like someone taking responsibility for the major part he played in killing these young women,” Mack said.

The parole board will make a recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland after the hearing. Strickland can follow the board’s ruling or make his own decision.

Cooey made a similar request in 2003 but was turned down.

His execution is scheduled for Oct. 14.

 

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