Ohio court won’t reopen case of man convicted of killing 11

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s Supreme Court has declined to reopen the death penalty case of a man sentenced to die for killing 11 women and hiding their remains in and around his Cleveland home.

At issue were arguments by attorneys for 58-year-old Anthony Sowell (SOH’-wehl) that he had poor legal assistance from the attorneys handling his case before the court.

Sowell’s current attorneys say his past lawyers should have brought forth a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that found Florida’s death penalty sentencing law unconstitutional.

Prosecutors argued against reopening the case. The state high court rejected Sowell’s request without comment Wednesday.

The Ohio public defender’s office represented Sowell and has declined to comment.