COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has issued several postponements of executions as of Friday, Oct. 18.
According to Gov. DeWine's office, three men who were set to be executed in 2025 have had their execution dates moved to 2028, including one man who's crime was committed in Toledo.
James Hanna, 75, who was scheduled to be executed on May 14, 2025, had his execution date postponed by Gov. DeWine. Hanna was given a life sentence for the 1978 murder of 18-year-old Edward Tucker, who worked as a convenience store clerk in west Toledo.
Court records indicate that Hanna was attempting to rob the convenience store when he killed Tucker. He was later sentenced to death after fatally stabbing and bludgeoning his cellmate, Peter Copa, inside the Lebanon Correctional Institution.
Hanna's new date of execution has been moved to April 19, 2028.
Gov. DeWine stated that the postponements are due to the state's lack of lethal medications used within the procedures. According to DeWine, some pharmaceutical suppliers are unwilling to provide drugs to corrections departments in the U.S., including the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
The other two postponements include Stanley Adams, 58, and John Drummond, 47. Adams was scheduled to be executed on Feb. 19, 2025. His new date of execution is Feb. 16, 2028. Drummond, who was scheduled to be executed on April 16, 2025, faces a new execution date of March 15, 2028.
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