18 June 2012 :

Cuyahoga County Judge Stuart Friedman ruled that Abdul Awkal is too mentally ill to be executed. The decision comes just a week after governor John Kasich issued a reprieve hours before the man was set to die. "Abdul Awkal presently lacks the capacity to form a rational understanding as to the reason the state intends to execute him," Judge Friedman said. "Abdul Awkal may not be executed unless and until he has been restored to competency." The judge said it's up to the defense to seek a delay. 53-year-old Awkal killed his estranged wife, Latife Awkal, and brother-in-law, Mahmoud Abdul-Aziz, in  January 1992 as the couple prepared to take up divorce and custody issues.