The one-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost did not address the innocence claim but instead dealt with challenges to the state's lethal injection procedures and a debate over whether minor variations to the policies should be enough to halt executions.

 

Michael Webb, who was scheduled to die Feb. 22, has argued that a leading arson expert can prove the 1990 fire in Goshen Township could have been set anywhere in the house, and not just near a closet or bathroom.

 

Webb, 65, says that fact backs up his argument that someone else did it. He has asked the Ohio Parole Board for mercy, and the board will make its recommendation next week to Gov. John Kasich, who has the final say.

 

Prosecutors say Webb tried to burn down his house to kill his wife and children to collect insurance money and to be with his mistress. Webb's son, Mikey, died of smoke inhalation

 

Attorneys for Webb say his situation is the same as another inmate whose execution is on hold over challenges to Ohio's lethal injection process.

 

Frost this month delayed the execution of Charles Lorraine of Warren, saying the state had failed to keep its promise of strictly following its execution policies. Frost was critical of deviations in an execution in November in which the inmate's medical chart wasn't properly checked and the documentation of the lethal drugs wasn't done according to the policies.

 

Ohio has filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Frost's ruling but the timing of any ruling is unclear.

 

Attorney General Mike DeWine says minor changes to the execution policy aren't the same thing as an unconstitutional system. Frost himself has said his rulings aren't a commentary on the constitutionality of Ohio's execution procedures.