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Ohio has indicted a man for voting illegally. He died in 2022

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Ramesh Patel was charged this week with illegal voting in several previous elections in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. But it will be difficult to bring him to trial. Mr. Patel died December 2022. Ramesh Patel was one of six legal noncitizens whose indictments were presented to the Ohio attorney general. But county prosecutor Michael O'Malley told the USA Today Network Ohio Bureau, the practice of indicting the deceased is draconian. This is not how we would have handled this case in my office.

The indictment of someone who is deceased does pose some practical questions. How do you put someone on trial when they're no longer around? How do you put together a jury of peers to hear Mr. Patel's case when the defendant is departed? Wouldn't at least a few of the jurors have to be departed, too? And even if the late Ramesh Patel were to be convicted, what kind of penalty is there for someone who is already deceased?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.