BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Monday's death date has been canceled for William Lee Garner, convicted of setting fires that killed five children.
U.S. District Judge James Graham issued the stay of execution on Thursday after Mr. Garner's attorneys initiated his federal appeal.
Mr. Garner was 19 when he set the blazes to cover his burglary of Addie Mack's English Woods home.
He said, however, that he did not want to kill the youngsters; that's why he closed fire doors on both upstairs fires and set the third fire downstairs - in hopes they could escape.
The evidence showed that:
Mr. Garner stole Ms. Mack's purse in January 1992, then used her keys to enter the Knob Court house where five younger children were in the care her 14-year-old son.
There, the Avondale man stole a VCR, two TV sets, a cordless telephone, and a boom box.
He disabled the fire alarm and set one fire downstairs and two fires upstairs.
Mr. Garner left with the loot in a waiting taxi.
Mr. Garner told police he even brought a glass of water to one of the youngsters before sending her back to bed and setting the fires.
Only the 14-year-old survived. Killed were his three sisters, a cousin and a neighbor.
Mr. Garner's state appeals were unsuccessful, and he is entitled to one round of federal appeals to overturn his conviction or death sentence.
His appeal, filed Wednesday, says he should never have been convicted of aggravated murder because he was not mentally competent to form the intent.
