COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Clarence Carter, a 49-year-old Ohio man convicted of beating to death another prison inmate after a dispute over what TV channel to watch, is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday morning.
Carter will be the 12th person executed in the United Statesthis year and the third in Ohio. He will be the second person in Ohio this year to die by use of pentobarbital, a barbiturate commonly used to euthanize pets.
Carter was in prison in December 1988 awaiting sentencing on his conviction for killing Michael Hadnot. One mid-December evening, Carter got into an argument with fellow prisonerJohnny Allen over what to watch on television, and Carter punched Allen in the face, according to prosecutors.
On December 28, Carter struck and kicked Allen for up to 25 minutes, stopping twice to wipe blood from his sneakers, according to prosecutors. Allen died after two weeks.
Carter claimed he was acting in self-defense, as Allen had come after him with a "shank" -- a knife made in prison.
Ohio started using pentobarbital due to a shortage of sodium thiopental. Hospira Inc. of Illinois said in January it would stop making the drug after Italy, where it planned to move production, objected, citing its use in executions.
(Reporting by Jim Leckrone; Writing by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Greg McCune)
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