Ohio Executes Killer Who Stabbed Woman 138 Times

Ohio executed a condemned killer on Tuesday who was convicted of repeatedly stabbing a woman 138 times, slitting her throat, and then cutting off her hands.

The condemned murderer, Brett Hartman, stated in his final words, “I’m good, let’s roll,” and continued to claim he was innocent of the crime, reports The Washington Post.

After saying his final words, Hartman smiled at his sister; gave her, a friend, and his attorney a “thumbs up”; and then prepared for his lethal injection. He added to warden Donald Morgan, “This is not going to defeat me.”

Before his death, Hartman had acknowledged he had sex with Wanda Snipes on the morning of September 9, 1997 but stated that he went back to her apartment later that day and discovered her mutilated body. He tried to clean up the mess before calling 911.

While Harman steadfastly stated he did not kill Snipes, the claim has been rejected by numerous courts since he was initially convicted, according to ABC News.

A statement from Hartman’s family was also read as Ohio prepared to execute the convicted killer. It said:

“We hope that the taking of Brett’s innocent life might serve as a wake-up call to the flaws in our legal system.”

Brett Hartman was initially scheduled for execution in 2009 and came within one week of the date before federal courts allowed him to pursue a claim of innocence. The claim failed, and the Ohio Parole Board has unanimously denied Hartman’s requests for clemency three times.

The convicted killer received a single dose of pentobarbital and was declared dead at 10:34 pm. Harman was the 49th inmate to be executed in Ohio since the state resumed executions in 1999.