"Why is this man living...Why?", asks Tom Heiss, brother of murder victim Tammy Engstrom.
Tammy Engstrom's family thought their nearly eighteen year wait for justice was over. Kenneth Biros was convicted of the brutal rape, murder and dismemberment of Tammy on these Brookfield railroad tracks back in 1991. He was scheduled to die by lethal injection in March of last year. But Biros jumped on the case of a Kentucky death row inmate who claimed the injection was cruel and unusual punishment. But just last month, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of lethal injections as constitutional. Still, Biros sits in prison, his sentence yet to be carried out.
"We don't understand what's taking so long, Virginia just executed somebody two days ago, Georgia just did somebody, and it's time for us.", says Tammy's sister Debi Heiss.
The Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office filed the first motion to set an execution date after the Supreme Court's decision on April 30th. Biros appealed, and now Ohio District Court Judge Gregory Frost is sitting on the motion. But hasn't acted on it for an entire month now. Debi wonders,
"What is he waiting for? I mean, look at us, if this was his daughter would he be waiting this long, if this was his family member?"
Tammy's brother and sister understand there could be innocent people on death row-- but say Biros isn't one of them.
"This person has stood up and admitted to the crimes he committed, he admitted to what he did to her, there is no question of doubt.", says Debi Heiss.
For now, Tammy's family continues to play the painful waiting game.
