COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio Supreme Court has scheduled a January hearing for a killer sentenced to die for raping and fatally stabbing a bartender.
A judge in 2012 ordered Joseph Thomas to be put to death for the slaying of Annie McSween in Lake County two years earlier.
Prosecutors said Thomas attacked the 49-year-old McSween by her car after she asked him to leave the bar where she worked.
The court on Wednesday set oral arguments for Jan. 10 to hear the appeal from attorneys for the 32-year-old Thomas.
Thomas’ execution is likely years away even if the court upholds the sentence because of federal appeals and the state’s difficulty finding execution drugs.
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