Federal judge halts Ohio execution

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 13 (UPI) -- Ohio officials say they won't appeal a federal judge's order halting the scheduled execution of condemned killer Kenneth Smith of Hamilton, Ohio.

U.S. District Court Judge Gregory L. Frost's decision last week delayed Smith's execution, set for July 19, because of what Frost said was the state's "haphazard application" of lethal injection policies, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Mike DeWine said DeWine would not, for the time being, challenge the ruling.

Smith, 45, was to be executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility for his role in the slayings of an Ohio couple in their home on May 12, 1995.

Smith's attorneys had questioned the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's adherence to its execution policies, including the required number of team members present and documentation of the preparation of drugs.

Frost ruled in their favor.

"Ohio pays lip service to standards it then often ignores without valid reasons, sometimes with no physical ramifications and sometimes with what have been described as messy if not botched executions," Frost ruled.