Ohio Makes Rare Mercy Recommendation In Death Penalty

The triggerman in a 1995 murder-for-hire scheme should be spared execution because other members of the plot were just as guilty, the Ohio Parole Board said Friday in a rare ruling in favor of mercy.

The board ruled 5-2 in favor of clemency for Jason Getsy, 33, scheduled to be executed Aug. 18 for the murder of 68-year-old Ann Serafino, of Hubbard, a Youngstown suburb in northeast Ohio.

Getsy was also convicted of the attempted murder of Serafino's son, Charles, who was the target of the scheme. Getsy and other participants did not expect Ann Serafino to be home the night of the shooting.

In the ruling obtained by The Associated Press, the board singled out the life sentence for John Santine, who initiated and organized the crime, saying Santine appeared to be just as guilty as Getsy.

Santine, 48, is serving a sentence of 20 years to life.

"In imposing a death sentence, it is imperative that we have consistency and similar penalties imposed upon similarly situated co-defendants," the parole board said.

2 board members voted against clemency, saying nothing requires a comparison of Getsy's sentence to that of Santine.

"So, because Santine was not given the sentence that some think he deserves, we should recommend a change in Getsy's sentencing that some think he deserves?" said board members Ellen Venters and Bobby Bogan.

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins told the board earlier this month Getsy was a soldier "on a mission" to kill. He didn't not immediately return a message seeking comment on the ruling.

The board's recommendation now goes to Gov. Ted Strickland, who has the final say. A message was left seeking comment.

Favorable clemency recommendations are rare in Ohio, which has executed 30 men since 1999, with another execution likely Tuesday.

Earlier this year the parole board also recommended clemency for death row inmate Jeffrey Hill, who killed his mother in a cocaine-induced rage but whose execution was opposed by his entire family.

Strickland agreed and commuted Hill's sentence to life in prison with parole possible after 25 years.

Former Gov. Bob Taft commuted Jerome Campbell's death sentence in 2003 at the recommendation of the parole board, which was concerned about evidence the jury didn't see.

Source: Associated Press, July 18, 2009