In brief: Limits approved for last words

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio has changed its execution-day rules to allow a warden to edit or shorten a condemned inmate’s final statement.

The change comes in the wake of a May execution in which a prisoner recited the Roman Catholic rosary and other prayers for 17 minutes.

Prisons spokeswoman Julie Walburn said Thursday the prisons department didn’t have a problem with Beuke’s words or the length of his statement but recognized there could be problematic statements in the future.

Soldiers say aim was to destroy pot

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Soldiers accused of breaking into a Colorado medical marijuana dispensary and then accidentally locking themselves inside told police they planned to destroy the marijuana – not smoke or sell it.

The Gazette in Colorado Springs reports a police affidavit says two of the three Fort Carson soldiers told officers they were trying to steal the marijuana so they could get rid of it.

Police say the three were arrested Saturday on second-degree burglary charges. Officers say they were on an unrelated call at a nearby business around 2 a.m. when they heard someone banging on glass inside the dispensary.

The soldiers are 23-year-old Pfc. Darius Thomas, 22-year-old Pvt. Cory Young and 22-year-old Pfc. Ramone Hollins.

Shootings suicide, survivor says

AURORA, Colo. – The double-shooting of Australian twin sisters that left one dead was a suicide pact, investigators said Thursday after interviewing the surviving sister.

The 29-year-old sisters, who have not been identified, had been in the Denver area for about five weeks before going to a shooting range Monday, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said.

Capt. Louie Perea said the surviving sister told officials that the two planned to commit suicide together and shot themselves at the range.

It wasn’t immediately known why they decided to commit suicide.