5th Reprieve Requested for Spirko

Attorney General Jim Petro has asked Governor Taft for a fifth reprieve for a condemned killer to allow more time for DNA testing. Petro asked Taft to delay the November 29 execution of death row inmate John Spirko six months while Spirko's lawyers continue to test evidence.

Spirko's attorneys say there is no way they can finish the testing before the scheduled execution date. Testing is being done on a tarp that held the body of slain postmistress Betty Jane Mottinger and two rags found in a field nearby.

Spirko, who says he is innocent, was convicted based on witness statements and his own comments to investigators. No physical evidence ties him to the killing and charges against a co-defendant who linked him to the murder have been dropped.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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