FILE – In a May 30, 2019 file photo, Ahmad Fawzi Issa, right, sits in Hamilton County Court in Cincinnati. Issa, who spent two decades on Ohio’s death row could soon find out whether he is going home. Hamilton County judge J. Patrick Foley III will hear Thursday, July 18, 2019 whether an agreement has been reached in the case of Issa. Issa was sentenced to death in the 1997 contract slaying of a Cincinnati convenience store owner. But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out his conviction last year. (AP Photo/Dan Sewell, File)
CINCINNATI (AP) — A 49-year-old Jordanian man who spent two decades on Ohio’s death row could soon find out whether he is going home.
Judge J. Patrick Foley III in Hamilton County will hear Thursday whether an agreement has been reached in the case of Ahmad Fawzi Issa (AH’-mahd FOW’-zee EE’-sah).
Issa was sentenced to death in the 1997 contract slaying of a Cincinnati convenience store owner, but the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out his conviction last year. It agreed with his attorneys that his constitutional right to confront witnesses against him was violated and that hearsay testimony was used to convict him.
Prosecutors have said it would be difficult to retry the case so many years later. Issa would face deportation to his homeland if the case is resolved.
By DAN SEWELL
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