Herman Ashworth
Encyclopedia
Herman Dale Ashworth was a murder
er executed by the U.S. state
of Ohio
. He admitted to the aggravated murder and aggravated robbery
of Daniel L. Baker whom he beat to death on 10 September 1996. He was executed by lethal injection
at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility
after spending 3,025 days on death row.
Ashworth met Baker for the first time while drinking at the Wagon Wheel bar in Newark, Ohio
. They went to another bar, and while returning to the Wagon Wheel at around 9 p.m., Ashworth took Baker into an alley where he beat him with his fists, feet and a 6-foot board. Ashworth would later say that Baker made unwanted sexual advances to him. Ashworth took $40 and three credit cards from Baker's wallet and went back to the Wagon Wheel. Later he took his then-girlfriend, Tanna Brett, to the alley and found Baker still alive. They went to another bar but Ashworth left, saying he would make sure Baker could not identify him. Brett returned to the alley and heard a metallic sound and found Baker's body near a metal loading dock door. A deputy-coroner would later testify that Baker's injuries were consistent with a high-speed traffic accident or plane crash.
Baker's body was later found at 3:45 a.m. by a couple walking a dog. Thirty minutes later, Ashworth made an anonymous 9-1-1
call to inform police of the beating. The call was traced and Ashworth was arrested.
He pleaded guilty at his trial and waived the right to present mitigating evidence. His defense lawyer did not cross-examine any witnesses. In May 2005, he dismissed his lawyers who were trying to keep him alive. On 31 August 2005 Ashworth refused to appear before a hearing of the Ohio Parole Board, which recommended that he be executed. Governor Bob Taft
issued a statement on 23 September saying he was denying clemency. Ashworth is the fourth among prisoners in Ohio to drop their appeals since the death penalty was resumed in the state in 1999.
Due to Hurricane Rita
his adoptive parents were unable to visit their son before the execution. They had not planned to witness the execution.
For his last meal
he ordered two cheeseburgers with lettuce and mayonnaise and french fries with ketchup, and drank one Dr Pepper
and one Mountain Dew
.
The prison medical technicians took ten minutes to insert the catheter
into his arm.
His final statement
was:
He was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. EST.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er executed by the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He admitted to the aggravated murder and aggravated robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
of Daniel L. Baker whom he beat to death on 10 September 1996. He was executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility
Southern Ohio Correctional Facility
The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison in Lucasville, Ohio, United States. The prison was constructed in 1972 and currently contains the death house for Ohio where death row inmates are executed...
after spending 3,025 days on death row.
Ashworth met Baker for the first time while drinking at the Wagon Wheel bar in Newark, Ohio
Newark, Ohio
In addition, the remains of a road leading south from the Octagon have been documented and explored. It was first surveyed in the 19th century, when its walls were more apparent. Called the Great Hopewell Road, it may extend to the Hopewell complex at Chillicothe, Ohio...
. They went to another bar, and while returning to the Wagon Wheel at around 9 p.m., Ashworth took Baker into an alley where he beat him with his fists, feet and a 6-foot board. Ashworth would later say that Baker made unwanted sexual advances to him. Ashworth took $40 and three credit cards from Baker's wallet and went back to the Wagon Wheel. Later he took his then-girlfriend, Tanna Brett, to the alley and found Baker still alive. They went to another bar but Ashworth left, saying he would make sure Baker could not identify him. Brett returned to the alley and heard a metallic sound and found Baker's body near a metal loading dock door. A deputy-coroner would later testify that Baker's injuries were consistent with a high-speed traffic accident or plane crash.
Baker's body was later found at 3:45 a.m. by a couple walking a dog. Thirty minutes later, Ashworth made an anonymous 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
call to inform police of the beating. The call was traced and Ashworth was arrested.
He pleaded guilty at his trial and waived the right to present mitigating evidence. His defense lawyer did not cross-examine any witnesses. In May 2005, he dismissed his lawyers who were trying to keep him alive. On 31 August 2005 Ashworth refused to appear before a hearing of the Ohio Parole Board, which recommended that he be executed. Governor Bob Taft
Bob Taft
Robert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
issued a statement on 23 September saying he was denying clemency. Ashworth is the fourth among prisoners in Ohio to drop their appeals since the death penalty was resumed in the state in 1999.
Due to Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
his adoptive parents were unable to visit their son before the execution. They had not planned to witness the execution.
For his last meal
Last meal
The last meal is a customary part of a condemned prisoner's last day. Often, the day of, or before, the appointed time of execution, the prisoner receives a last meal, as well as religious rites, if they desire. In the United States, inmates generally may not ask for an alcoholic drink...
he ordered two cheeseburgers with lettuce and mayonnaise and french fries with ketchup, and drank one Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia ...
and one Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
.
The prison medical technicians took ten minutes to insert the catheter
Catheter
In medicine, a catheter is a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters thereby allow drainage, administration of fluids or gases, or access by surgical instruments. The process of inserting a catheter is catheterization...
into his arm.
His final statement
Final statement
When a criminal is convicted and sentenced to capital punishment, the criminal can make a final statement, or his "last words", before being executed. Much of the time, the last word is an apology to family, friends, or God. Sometimes though, a final statement includes words of hatred, disgust, or...
was:
He was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. EST.