COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Ohio corrections officials Tuesday denied a death row inmate's request that he be allowed to donate his organs to his sick relatives.
Ronald Phillips, 40, scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday for raping and killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in 1993, had asked in a letter Monday that his organs go to his mother and sister before or after his death.
"Ron is making this generous request without any conditions or expectations," his attorneys wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by ABCNews.com.
"If he had his choice, he would like that one or both of his kidneys, if a match, go to his mother who is suffering from kidney disease and on dialysis, and for his heart to go to his sister, who has a heart condition."
But Ohio prison officials rejected his request, saying it was too late, the network said. In a letter to the inmate's lawyers, they wrote that the request for an "unprecedented" pre-execution donation couldn't be done on such short notice. They also cited logistical and security issues raised by having the procedure at an outside medical facility.
The officials said Phillips' family can decide what to do with his remains after they receive his body.
