COLUMBUS — Death row inmate J.D. Scott suffers from mental illness to the point that he hallucinates he is hearing voices and has had bouts of psychotic behavior when he is not under medication, according to documents his lawyer provided Thursday.

        Mr. Scott, convicted of aggravated murder for the slaying of a Cleveland delicatessen owner during a 1983 robbery, is scheduled to be executed April 17.

        Mr. Scott, 48, has appealed to Gov. Bob Taft to reduce his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A clemency hearing before the Ohio Parole Board is set for Tuesday. The board then will make a nonbinding recommendation to Mr. Taft on whether to spare Mr. Scott's life.

        On May 6, 1983, Mr. Scott and an accomplice entered the V&E Delicatessen in Cleveland and ordered something to eat from owner Vinnie Prince.

        After she prepared their food, the 74-year-old woman was shot in the chest at near point-blank range during an attempted robbery.

        Sentenced to death in 1984, Mr. Scott is close to becoming the first Ohio death-row inmate to be put to death against his will since 1963. His lawyers Thursday provided scores of documents to Mr. Taft's office, Attorney General Betty Montgomery and others questioning Mr. Scott's mental state and whether jurors were aware of his background.

        Mr. Scott is a schizophrenic whose life should be spared, his attorney, Timothy F. Sweeney said. Before Mr. Scott was sentenced, the jury never heard about his illness or upbringing because his then-attorneys never introduced it into evidence, said Mr. Sweeney, who does not question Mr. Scott's guilt.

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