A Hancock County man, who is already in prison for murder, could get the death penalty for killing his cellmate last year.
According to the Dayton Daily News, 38-year-old Joel Drain wrote a letter to a Warren County judge asking if he could plead "No Contest" to aggravated murder, which was against the advice of his lawyers. The judge has set a hearing for Wednesday and if the judge decides he is guilty, the death penalty is a possible sentence. Following the letter to the judge, his lawyers are working to get Drain declared incompetent to stand trial.
Drain was already facing 38 years to life in prison for strangling a man to death in Hancock County in 2016. He also admitted to brutally beating his cellmate to death in April 2019 in the Warren Correctional Institute. Drain has already waived his right to a jury trial, in favor of trial by judge.
