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Dayton Daily News
Clemency Hearing For Spirko Heated Decision on death row inmate expected by Wednesday
By Tom Beyerlein October 13, 2005 COLUMBUS | Death row inmate John Spirko's second clemency hearing was more contentious and lengthy than the first one, as attorneys for both the state and defense analyzed the case in microscopic detail to alternately paint Spirko as a killer deserving of the ultimate penalty and a hapless loser about to be executed for a crime he didn't commit. Following Wednesday's nine-hour hearing, Ohio Parole Board Chairman Gary Croft said the board will make its recommendation to Gov. Bob Taft on whether Spirko's life should be spared on Wednesday. Spirko, on death row at Mansfield Correctional Institution, did not attend. Spirko is scheduled to die by lethal injection Nov. 15. Board member Slayman N. Bedra quizzed prosecutors about why FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials apparently didn't investigate a 1997 lead brought to their attention by Wyandot County sheriff's investigator William Latham. Latham testified that the feds didn't act when Latham told them that a local house painter said he had information that another painter with no known links to Spirko killed rural postmistress Betty Jane Mottinger on Aug. 9, 1982. "It doesn't matter which side of the argument you take, shouldn't that be followed up on?" Bedra said. "If there are other offenders out there, shouldn't they be brought to justice? I think the state missed a window of opportunity. I think that window may still be there and I hope the state will pursue it." Defense attorney Thomas Hill said the parole board should recommend clemency. "The evidence the jury heard was in large part false and certainly incomplete," Hill told board members. "You are the protectors against injustice. You have to be absolutely certain you have it right."
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