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State Executes 49th Inmate Since 1999

Convicted murderer Brett Hartman was executed today with a lethal injection. He had been convicted of the 1997 slaying of an Akron woman, Winda Snipes, stabbing her more than 100 times and cutting off her hands. His lawyers contended his trial attorneys didn’t do a thorough enough job…..so his death sentence should be changed to life in prison…….but the Ohio Parole Board recommended no clemency….and Governor John Kasich agreed that the execution should move ahead. Andrew Welsh-Huggins is a reporter for the Ohio Associated Press, and he witnessed the execution. He tells Ohio Public Radio’s Bill Cohen that the lethal injection went smoothly and was uneventful.

The Statehouse News Bureau was founded in 1980 to provide educational, comprehensive coverage of legislation, elections, issues and other activities surrounding the Statehouse to Ohio's public radio and television stations. To this day, the Bureau remains the only broadcast outlet dedicated to in-depth coverage of state government news and topics of statewide interest. The Bureau is funded througheTech Ohio, and is managed by ideastream. The reporters at the Bureau follow the concerns of the citizens and voters of Ohio, as well as the actions of the Governor, the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Supreme Court, and other elected officials. We strive to cover statehouse news, government issues, Ohio politics, and concerns of business, culture and the arts with balance and fairness, and work to present diverse voices and points of view from the Statehouse and throughout Ohio. The three award-winning journalists at the bureau have more than 60 combined years of radio and television experience. They can be heard on National Public Radio and are regular contributors to Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace. Every weekday, the Statehouse News Bureau produces in-depth news reports forOhio's public radio stations. Those stories are also available on this website, either on the front page or in our archives. Weekly, the Statehouse News Bureau produces a television show from our studios in the Statehouse. The State of Ohio is an unique blend of news, interviews, talk and analysis, and is broadcast on Ohio's public television stations. The Statehouse News Bureau also produces special programming throughout the year, including the Governor's annual State of the State address to the Ohio General Assembly and a five-part year-end review.