A man on death row for killing his ex-girlfriend's parents with a sledgehammer is getting a new hearing after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled his IQ might be too low for him to have been condemned.
Shawn Ford Jr. was convicted in Summit County in 2015 of aggravated murder and other charges in the slayings of Margaret and Jeffrey Schobert two years earlier.
Defense attorneys argued that Ford's low IQ should have prevented the judge from sentencing their client to death. The high court's 5-2 ruling Thursday upheld Ford's conviction but ordered a hearing to determine if his intellectual disability prohibits his execution.
FILE - In this June 29, 2015 file photo, Shawn Ford Jr.,, standing between his attorneys Don Hicks, left, and Jon Sinn, cries as he apologizes to the Schobert family before being sentenced to death by Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Tom Parker for the murder of Margaret Schobert, in Akron, Ohio. The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected the death sentence for Ford Jr., Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, and ordered a new sentencing hearing. (Karen SchielyAkron Beacon Journal via AP, File)
Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said the judge and jurors correctly determined that Ford should be sentenced to death.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.
The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.
“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.
The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”
Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.
During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.
Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.
Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”
President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
