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Court Hears Case of Ohio Man Who Killed 88-Year-Old Woman
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The Ohio Supreme Court has heard arguments in the case of a condemned killer convicted of fatally beating and stabbing an 88-year-old woman during a robbery.
Death row inmate James Goff was sentenced to death in the 1994 slaying of Myrtle Rutledge in her Wilmington home in southwestern Ohio. He was found guilty by a jury the following year.
A federal appeals court ruled in 2010 that Goff received poor legal help during his appeals. He went before a judge in 2015 for a new sentencing and again received the death penalty.
The 43-year-old Goff argues he was wrongly prevented from presenting a psychological update and evidence of his good behavior in prison at his resentencing.
The Supreme Court held oral arguments Tuesday morning.