USA - Ohio. The Ohio Supreme Court indefinitely postponed the execution of Abdul Awkal

The Ohio Supreme Court indefinitely postponed the execution of Abdul Awkal. The high court’s ruling does not set a future execution date, but the court can set one if Awkal is found to be mentally competent in the future. Awkal remains on death row in Chillicothe, according to a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Brian Moriarty, an attorney for Awkal, said the execution could be delayed for a while because the state has executions scheduled through January 2014. The decision followed a decision last week by Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Stuart Friedman that Awkal was not mentally competent to be executed because he doesn’t understand the connection between his crime and the death penalty punishment. Awkal, 53, was originally scheduled to die June 6, but Gov. John Kasich granted a two-week reprieve to allow time for a competency hearing. Awkal shot and killed his estranged wife, Latife, and her brother, Mahmoud Abdul-Aziz, in 1992. His wife had filed for divorce.