COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich has spared the condemned killer of a convenience store owner whose execution was opposed by the prosecutor who pushed for a death sentence and a judge who handed it down.
Those opposing the July 26 execution of John Eley (EE'-lee) also included the detective who investigated the 1986 killing of store owner Ihsan Aydah (EE'-sahn EYE'-dah).
Records show the 63-year-old Eley refused to testify against his alleged conspirator, Melvin Green, in exchange for a deal that would have removed the death penalty.
Former Mahoning County prosecutor Gary Van Brocklin has said he tried repeatedly to get Eley to testify against Green, considered the mastermind of the 1986 shooting in Youngstown.
Former Mahoning County sentencing judge Peter Economus, now a federal judge, also opposes Eley's execution
