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OHIO NEWS NETWORK
October 12, 2005 Major Points In Death Penalty Case Major differences in the death penalty case of John Spirko, who had a second clemency hearing on Wednesday in the state's case against him for the 1982 stabbing death of Betty Jane Mottinger, postmaster in the northwest Ohio village of Elgin: PURSE _ The state claims Spirko knew that Mottinger's purse was a large cream-colored handbag with brown leather handles and piping. _ Spirko's lawyers say that Spirko knew of the purse's appearance because a postal inspector described it for him, something the inspector denies. NEWS ACCOUNTS _ The state claims Spirko knew many details about the case that only someone at the scene of the crime could know because they had not been made public. _ Spirko's lawyers say that many of those details were in area newspapers and on television before Spirko was questioned. ALIBI _ Spirko's lawyers claim Spirko spent the day of the killing with his sister and visited a parole officer about a previous conviction. _ The state says Spirko's parole officer acknowledged that he met with Spirko but kept no record of the time, including the period in which Mottinger was abducted and killed.
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