Condemned now can speak last words - Ohio had restricted...

Condemned now can speak last words - Ohio had restricted it to writing. Condemned prisoners will be offered a microphone and a reasonable amount of time to make a statement before their execution, under a new state policy. The change is part of a settlement between Ohio and the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit to force the state to allow prisoners to speak. Prison officials instituted a policy in 1997 that permitted prisoners to only write their last words, which would be subject to editing and read only after their executions.