COLUMBUS, Ohio — The governor sidestepped a decision Monday about whether a condemned inmate was too fat to be humanely executed by sparing the prisoner on the grounds that he had poor legal representation.

Governor John Kasich’s decision to grant clemency to Ronald Post mirrored the recommendation of mercy by the state parole board, which said it didn’t doubt Post’s guilt but said there were too many problems with how he was represented 30 years ago.