The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected death row inmate Gary Otte's request to delay his execution while he pursues an appeal. Otte is scheduled to die next week.
Otte wants the death penalty declared unconstitutional in his case because he was under 21 at the time of the crime. He is also challenging Ohio's lethal injection method in federal court.
Otte was sentenced to die for the February 1992 killings of Robert Wasikowski and Sharon Kostura. Both slayings took place in suburban Cleveland.
Republican Gov. John Kasich had already rejected a request for clemency made by Otte's attorneys.
In July, Ohio carried out its first execution in over three years, killing inmate Ronald Phillips. Phillips tried unsuccessfully to argue that Ohio's lethal injection method was unconstitutional.
