Condemned US child killer’s wish to donate organs won’t be allowed before his execution

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A condemned child killer will not be allowed to donate organs to his ailing mother and sister before his execution this week.

Ohio prisons officials say the unprecedented request by Ronald Phillips to donate a kidney and his heart could not be accommodated. Security concerns and logistical challenges were cited, among other reasons.

The department says it will be up to his family whether the organs are donated after his death.

Phillips has said through his attorneys that the request was not a delay tactic, but rather an attempt to make a final gesture for good.

Cleveland attorney Tim Sweeney said Tuesday that Phillips was hopeful his case would go another way and so had not proposed donating his organs earlier.