A death row inmate convicted and sentenced in the slayings of five fellow inmates during a 1993 prison riot in Ohio is appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court on new grounds.
Forty-eight-year-old Keith LaMar’s latest legal push plays off the court’s ruling last year finding Florida’s death penalty scheme unconstitutional, saying it gave judges too much power and juries not enough to decide capital cases.
LaMar argues the Ohio Supreme Court must revisit his case in light of the new standard, since Ohio’s scheme is similar. The state has until Sept. 18 to respond.
LaMar was convicted of aggravated murder in 1995 for the deaths of five inmates during the riot at Lucasville’s Southern Ohio Correctional Institution. He received the death penalty for four of the five killings.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.