A man who was convicted of gunning down his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend in 1984 was scheduled to be put to death Tuesday morning, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene.

A man who was convicted of gunning down his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend in 1984 was scheduled to be put to death Tuesday morning, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene.

Daniel Lee Bedford, 63, has said he doesn't remember the slayings. His lawyers have argued that he has dementia and a mild mental disability that keep him from fully understanding the meaning and purpose of his death sentence.


They had sought a stay of execution to allow more time for the courts to consider that issue and others, and a federal judge in Columbus granted the request Monday. Hours later, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati lifted the stay, and the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down Bedford's appeal without comment.

A state prisons spokesman said Bedford told mental health staff early Tuesday morning that he understood he would die and was preparing himself.

The spokesman said Bedford became emotional during morning visits with friends and spiritual advisers. He also laughed, cried and prayed with his daughter, and a priest conducted a personal Mass for him.

Bedford's attorneys also had argued that Ohio courts unreasonably applied established law and denied Bedford legal proceedings to which he is constitutionally entitled.