Ohio executes jailhouse killer Carter

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LUCASVILLE, Ohio, April 12 (UPI) -- Ohio inmate Clarence Carter was executed Tuesday for the 1988 beating death of a fellow prisoner, officials said.

Carter was the third Ohio inmate to be executed this year and died by lethal injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville.

Carter, 49, snacked on dates and tuna sandwiches before being taken to the death chamber where he apologized to the family of his victim.

Carter was sentenced to death for a fatal brawl at the Hamilton County Jail Annex with fellow inmate Johnny Allen. The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch said Allen was pummeled for some 25 minutes to the point he was unrecognizable.

The death sentence took a long route through the legal system. The Dispatch said Carter had high-profile support from the former head of the Ohio prison system and a former state supreme court justice; however, his appeals were all rejected and Gov. John Kasich refused to grant clemency.