State v. Were

Francis E. Sweeney, Sr., J.

In April 1993, inmates rioted at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio. During the upheaval, groups of inmates overpowered prison guards and held authorities at bay for several days. Before control was regained at the maximum security facility, several inmates and one guard were murdered. In this death-penalty case, defendant-appellant, James Were, was tried and found guilty of the murder of the prison guard, Robert Vallandingham.1 Upon appeal, the court of appeals affirmed. This cause is now before the court upon an appeal as of right from the…