FILE – This undated file photo provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows death row inmate Raymond Tibbetts, scheduled for execution on July 26, 2017, for fatally stabbing Fred Hicks in 1997 in Cincinnati. Ohio Parole Board members denied mercy for Tibbetts, voting 11-1 against clemency in a decision released Friday, March 10, 2017. Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich has final say. Tibbetts is also sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the beating death of his wife Judith Crawford. (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction via AP, File) (The Associated Press)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio's parole board has denied mercy for a death row inmate convicted of killing two people.
The board voted 11-1 against clemency for condemned killer Raymond Tibbetts in a decision released Friday.
The 59-year-old Tibbetts is scheduled for execution July 26.
Tibbetts was sentenced to death for killing 67-year-old Fred Hicks at Hicks' Cincinnati home in 1997. He was sentenced to life without parole for the beating death of his 42-year-old wife, Judith Crawford, during an argument over Tibbetts' crack cocaine habit.
Both crimes happened the same day.
Defense attorneys say Tibbetts had a traumatic and chaotic childhood that affected his behavior as an adult.
Hamilton County prosecutors argue that what Tibbetts went through doesn't outweigh the brutality of his crimes.
Republican Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik) has the final say.
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