Here are your morning headlines for Wednesday, September 13th:
- Convicted killer set to die today
- Democratic candidates for Ohio governor hold first debate
- Undocumented immigrant gets sanctuary days before deportation
- Federal investigators blame deadly Tesla crash on driver, not technology
- Ohio Supreme Court asked to uphold order to shut down Toledo abortion clinic
- Ohio Supreme Court rules admission of liability from medical provider can't be used to sue them
Convicted killer set to die today
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a condemned Ohio killer's last-minute attempt to delay his execution. Gary Otte is scheduled to die this morning. The 45-year-old inmate still has a final appeal before the state Supreme Court, arguing he shouldn't be put to death because of his age at the time of the crime. The court didn't indicate when it would rule, although an early morning decision is likely. Otte was 20 when he killed two people in Parma in 1992.
Democratic candidates for Ohio governor hold first debate
Democrats have used the first debate among four candidates for Ohio governor to take on Republican leadership in Columbus and Washington, D.C., and highlight their party's promises. The contenders to succeed Republican Gov. John Kasich met at Martins Ferry High School on Tuesday. Ex-U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton notes her record in local, state and federal government and says President Donald Trump's performance shows the risks of electing someone lacking experience. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley highlights her accomplishments as the only executive-level contender. Ex-state Rep. Connie Pillich is a U.S. Air Force veteran and casts the Democratic Party as the party of patriots. Sen. Joe Schiavoni spotlights his legislative experience and his knowledge of the players in Columbus.
Undocumented immigrant gets sanctuary days before deportation
An Akron woman scheduled to be deported to Mexico has moved into a makeshift apartment inside a suburban Cleveland church that offered her sanctuary. 42-year-old Leonora Garcia was supposed to be deported this week but immigration officials say they will not try to remove her from Forest Hill Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. Garcia has lived in the United States without documentation for more than 20 years and has four American-born children. Her husband was deported in 2011. The pastor of the church said the decision to house Garcia was made after a discussion with the congregation. He says she has no criminal record and is involved in the community.
Federal investigators blame deadly Tesla crash on driver, not technology
Design limitations of the Tesla Model S's Autopilot played a major role in the first known fatal crash of a highway vehicle operating under automated control systems. The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday the direct cause of the crash was an inattentive Tesla driver's over reliance on technology and a truck driver who made a left-hand turn in front of the car. But the board also recommended that automakers incorporate safeguards that keep drivers' attention engaged. 40-year old Joshua Brown of Stark County was killed while using Tesla’s automated systems in Florida last year.
Ohio Supreme Court asked to uphold order to shut down Toledo abortion clinic
Government attorneys on Tuesday asked the Ohio Supreme Court to override lower court rulings and uphold the state Health Department's order to shut down Toledo's last abortion clinic. A lawyer for the clinic told the court that the state is trying to prevent women in northwestern Ohio from seeking legal abortions and is putting them at greater risk. The case involves one of several restrictions Ohio lawmakers have placed on abortion clinics in recent years. The Ohio Department of Health issued an order in 2014 to close Capital Care of Toledo because the clinic didn't have a mandated patient-transfer agreement with a local hospital. The clinic sued and won in the lower courts, which ruled the restrictions were unconstitutional. Judges have allowed the clinic to continue operating as the legal dispute carries on.
Ohio Supreme Court rules admission of liability from medical provider can't be used to sue them
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that an apology by a medical provider that includes an admission of liability can't be used in a later lawsuit against the provider. At issue in the court's Tuesday decision was the state's "apology law," which already bars using apologies in lawsuits. The new question before the court was whether an apology that includes an expression of fault can also be kept out of lawsuits. Justice Sharon Kennedy wrote that under Ohio law the apology may include an acknowledgment that a patient's medical care fell below standards of care without it later being used as evidence. The court looked at the case of a woman in Brown County in southern Ohio who died after trying to kill herself in a hospital.
