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Attorney General Asks Governor To Delay Execution Again Tue, Jan. 03, 2006 Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio - Attorney General Jim Petro asked Gov. Bob Taft on Tuesday to again delay the execution of a man who says he's innocent of a 1982 slaying to allow for more DNA testing. If granted, it would be the third time since September the lethal injection of murderer John Spirko has been postponed. Petro asked Taft to postpone the execution, set for Jan. 19, by six months to allow for the testing [pdf file] requested by Spirko's lawyers. Spirko, 59, was convicted of killing Betty Jane Mottinger, the postmistress in Elgin in northwest Ohio. She was abducted and repeatedly stabbed, then wrapped in a tarp and dumped in a field. Her body was found three weeks later. Petro says his office needs time to test hairs found on duct tape wrapped around the tarp that contained Mottinger's body. He says his office will also need time to find other potential suspects - some of whose names came up earlier in the case - if the hairs are found to come from someone other than Spirko or Mottinger. Some of the previous suspects live out of state and Ohio may need court orders to demand the testing, Heather Gosselin, senior deputy attorney general, said in a letter to Taft's office Tuesday. Taft is reviewing the request, spokesman Mark Rickel said. A message was left with Spirko's attorneys. Spirko was convicted based on witness' statements and his own comments to investigators. No physical evidence linked him to the crime.
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