Post by CCADP on Aug 13, 2005 20:46:42 GMT -5
Juries pick life, no parole over death sentences -- In Franklin County,
capital punishment is becoming rare
Franklin County jurors have spared the lives of 14 killers since 2003, the
last year a jury recommended a death penalty.
4 candidates for death row have been spared this year because jurors
couldn't reach a unanimous decision after convicting them of aggravated
murder.
The most recent case was that of Vernon Spence, who orchestrated a robbery
in a University District house and shot 3 young people in the back of the
head, execution-style, after they were tied up.
During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney David DeVillers told jurors, "If
this case is not deserving of the ultimate punishment, can you conceive of
a case that does?"
On July 23, after 3 days of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of
life without parole.
The other cases this year:
- Demetrius Wilson shot to death 2 men drinking beer outside a Cleveland
Avenue apartment complex and was seen running away with a gun in his hand.
He is serving 51 years to life in prison.
- Jamel Curtis shot and killed a carryout owner during a robbery and took
part in the robbery and murder of a gun-store owner 18 days later. Jurors
gave him life without parole for the 1st killing. For the 2nd, they
convicted him of a murder charge that didn't subject him to the death
penalty.
- Charles Garrison fatally shot a man sitting on a couch and killed a dog
in a drug-house takeover after bursting through the door yelling, "SWAT."
He is serving 28 years to life.
2 death-penalty cases are under way this week in Common Pleas Court.
Kristoffer T. Morris is on trial in the killing of Clifford Shortridge Jr.
and Russell Bonner in July 2004. Toby D. Wilcox is on trial in the killing
of Habu Westbrook and 1-month-old Alamar John-William Wright in May 2003.
Since 1996, juries have been able to choose a sentence of life without
parole. That, say prosecutors and defense lawyers, is a major reason for
the decline in death sentences: It's easier to slam a prison door than
send a person to die.
Of the 38 states with capital punishment, only New Mexico does not offer
life without parole as an alternative. Texas added that option this year
after leading the country in executions during the past 5 years.
Across the country, executions dropped 40 percent last year and death
sentences continued a five-year decline, says the Death Penalty
Information Center, a nonprofit watchdog group in Washington.
Ohio put to death 438 people before a U.S. Supreme Court decision halted
executions in 1972. Since 1981, when the death penalty was reinstated,
Ohio has executed 16 people; 194 men and 1 woman are on death row.
Franklin County jurors have sent 18 men to death row since 1981. 13
remain.
William Wickline, who killed Christopher Lerch and strangled Lerch's wife,
Peggy Ann, in 1982, was executed last year, as was John Glenn Roe, who
choked and shot Donette Crawford in 1984.
Jerry Hessler, who shot and killed 4 people in 1995, died of a heart
attack in 2003. Carl Haight's sentence for splitting a man's head with a
sledgehammer in 1991 was thrown out when his conviction was overturned. In
a plea agreement, he was then sentenced to 36 years to life in prison. Lee
Seiber's death sentence was commuted by then-Gov. Richard F. Celeste in
1991. Seiber shot a man in the back in a bar.
The Associated Press recently reported wide disparities among counties in
imposing death sentences. That prompted state Rep. Shirley A. Smith, a
Cleveland Democrat, to call for a statewide review to determine whether
the penalty is applied fairly.
Sister Alice Gerdeman, a Roman Catholic nun from Cincinnati who, with
Ohioans to Stop Executions, would prefer to see the death penalty
eliminated.
"It doesn't save money, it's not a deterrent, and it puts too much power
into the hands of one organization, and the state itself should not have
that power," Gerdeman said. "In general, I don't think we should be giving
up on people."
She said 105 civil-rights and religious groups, including the League of
Women Voters, have asked Gov. Bob Taft to issue a moratorium on
executions, which has happened in Illinois and New Jersey. Those states
are reviewing their laws and considering alternatives. Taft has declined.
Joe Edwards, a Columbus defense lawyer who has handled the appeals of 3
men on death row, said mitigation experts and defense investigators have
learned what buttons to push with jurors to avoid a death sentence.
"Life without parole is the biggest reason I see in a decline in (death)
verdicts," Edwards said. He said the sentence allows jurors to feel
confident that the killer will be locked away.
At the same time, many jurors are "really well-educated or middle class,
and they see most capital defendants are so different from them, they find
it more difficult to sentence to death," he said.
capital punishment is becoming rare
Franklin County jurors have spared the lives of 14 killers since 2003, the
last year a jury recommended a death penalty.
4 candidates for death row have been spared this year because jurors
couldn't reach a unanimous decision after convicting them of aggravated
murder.
The most recent case was that of Vernon Spence, who orchestrated a robbery
in a University District house and shot 3 young people in the back of the
head, execution-style, after they were tied up.
During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney David DeVillers told jurors, "If
this case is not deserving of the ultimate punishment, can you conceive of
a case that does?"
On July 23, after 3 days of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of
life without parole.
The other cases this year:
- Demetrius Wilson shot to death 2 men drinking beer outside a Cleveland
Avenue apartment complex and was seen running away with a gun in his hand.
He is serving 51 years to life in prison.
- Jamel Curtis shot and killed a carryout owner during a robbery and took
part in the robbery and murder of a gun-store owner 18 days later. Jurors
gave him life without parole for the 1st killing. For the 2nd, they
convicted him of a murder charge that didn't subject him to the death
penalty.
- Charles Garrison fatally shot a man sitting on a couch and killed a dog
in a drug-house takeover after bursting through the door yelling, "SWAT."
He is serving 28 years to life.
2 death-penalty cases are under way this week in Common Pleas Court.
Kristoffer T. Morris is on trial in the killing of Clifford Shortridge Jr.
and Russell Bonner in July 2004. Toby D. Wilcox is on trial in the killing
of Habu Westbrook and 1-month-old Alamar John-William Wright in May 2003.
Since 1996, juries have been able to choose a sentence of life without
parole. That, say prosecutors and defense lawyers, is a major reason for
the decline in death sentences: It's easier to slam a prison door than
send a person to die.
Of the 38 states with capital punishment, only New Mexico does not offer
life without parole as an alternative. Texas added that option this year
after leading the country in executions during the past 5 years.
Across the country, executions dropped 40 percent last year and death
sentences continued a five-year decline, says the Death Penalty
Information Center, a nonprofit watchdog group in Washington.
Ohio put to death 438 people before a U.S. Supreme Court decision halted
executions in 1972. Since 1981, when the death penalty was reinstated,
Ohio has executed 16 people; 194 men and 1 woman are on death row.
Franklin County jurors have sent 18 men to death row since 1981. 13
remain.
William Wickline, who killed Christopher Lerch and strangled Lerch's wife,
Peggy Ann, in 1982, was executed last year, as was John Glenn Roe, who
choked and shot Donette Crawford in 1984.
Jerry Hessler, who shot and killed 4 people in 1995, died of a heart
attack in 2003. Carl Haight's sentence for splitting a man's head with a
sledgehammer in 1991 was thrown out when his conviction was overturned. In
a plea agreement, he was then sentenced to 36 years to life in prison. Lee
Seiber's death sentence was commuted by then-Gov. Richard F. Celeste in
1991. Seiber shot a man in the back in a bar.
The Associated Press recently reported wide disparities among counties in
imposing death sentences. That prompted state Rep. Shirley A. Smith, a
Cleveland Democrat, to call for a statewide review to determine whether
the penalty is applied fairly.
Sister Alice Gerdeman, a Roman Catholic nun from Cincinnati who, with
Ohioans to Stop Executions, would prefer to see the death penalty
eliminated.
"It doesn't save money, it's not a deterrent, and it puts too much power
into the hands of one organization, and the state itself should not have
that power," Gerdeman said. "In general, I don't think we should be giving
up on people."
She said 105 civil-rights and religious groups, including the League of
Women Voters, have asked Gov. Bob Taft to issue a moratorium on
executions, which has happened in Illinois and New Jersey. Those states
are reviewing their laws and considering alternatives. Taft has declined.
Joe Edwards, a Columbus defense lawyer who has handled the appeals of 3
men on death row, said mitigation experts and defense investigators have
learned what buttons to push with jurors to avoid a death sentence.
"Life without parole is the biggest reason I see in a decline in (death)
verdicts," Edwards said. He said the sentence allows jurors to feel
confident that the killer will be locked away.
At the same time, many jurors are "really well-educated or middle class,
and they see most capital defendants are so different from them, they find
it more difficult to sentence to death," he said.