Obese Death Row Inmate Claims Innocence To Delay Execution


An obese death row inmate who has argued that putting him to death would constitute cruel and unusual punishment is now claiming he’s innocent in a bid to delay execution.

Obese death row inmate Ronald Post was convicted in the shooting death of a hotel clerk back in 1983, and thirty years later, Post weighs 480 pounds. As execution looms, the prisoner has argued that his unusually large size would cause him to suffer severe pain during the procedure that would end his life.

A lawyer for the obese death row inmate argued back in September that Post was too fat to execute humanely, saying in a filing:

“Indeed, given his unique physical and medical condition there is a substantial risk that any attempt to execute him will result in serious physical and psychological pain to him, as well as an execution involving a torturous and lingering death.”

A judge rejected Post’s objection and ruled the execution could go on as planned.

At the time, the obese death row inmate’s public defender Joseph Wilhelm also raised objections about the integrity of the conviction, stating that the cruelty considerations surrounding his weight were only part of the reason Post’s fate should be reconsidered:

“Post’s case is about more than his weight, and his life should be spared for reasons wholly unrelated to his obesity.”

ronald post execution appeal

Post says that he was guilty of robbery, but the obese death row inmate contends that another man pulled the trigger and fired the shot that killed the clerk — but prosecutors are not buying his claim:

” … Post said he was ‘complicit in the robbery’ but didn’t enter the hotel personally, Will said in the filing … Will called the allegation a ‘brand new claim’ that isn’t backed up by the facts. He said Post took responsibility when he pleaded no contest in 1984.”

The obese death row inmate is scheduled to be put to death in January.

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