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THE PLAIN DEALER
A Call To Action In Spirko Case
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 John Spirko was supposed to die Tuesday. Two weeks ago, the governor delayed the execution so the Ohio Parole Board could take another look at the case. Kudos to Gov. Bob Taft for doing the right thing and to the parole board for asking for another clemency hearing. Also, many thanks to all of you who wrote letters to the governor and to the parole board. The new clemency hearing is on Oct. 12. Since the last hearing, more concerns have surfaced about the credibility of the man who helped put Spirko on death row. Spirko was convicted of killing Betty Jane Mottinger, a postmaster in rural Elgin, Ohio. She was stabbed to death in 1982. Paul Hartman was the lead postal inspector investigating the murder. Spirko was convicted based almost entirely on Hartman's word. Hartman's credibility has already been questioned. Hartman never taped his interviews with Spirko and never had Spirko sign any written statements. He lured Spirko into implicating a friend, Delaney Gibson. But before the trial, Hartman had photos, receipts and witnesses that showed Gibson was out of state at the time. That evidence was filed away and the State tried the case using the phony Gibson connection. This year, Hartman told at least three people that he never believed Gibson was involved and that he told prosecutors so before the trial. Now Hartman says he said that to purposely mislead a reporter and Spirko's attorneys. But Postal Inspector Gregory Duerr recently wrote the parole board to say that Hartman was the subject of an investigation by the Postal Service regarding complaints about his behavior. Duerr wrote, "I witnessed unprofessional comments and, in some instances, conduct bordering on criminal." Duerr, who worked with Hartman in the Cleveland office, wrote, "most if not all inspectors in Cleveland have concerns about what is transpiring." Add this to the list of doubts about Spirko's guilt. No physical evidence links Spirko to the crime. Eight years ago, John Willier, who was once a suspect in the murder, told prosecutors in Wyandot County that Dale Dingus committed the crime. (Dingus denies it.) Willier and Dingus painted houses in the area. The body was wrapped in a cloth splattered with paint. While Willier was in prison on a drug trafficking conviction, an inmate said Willier admitted killing the postmaster over a botched shipment of drugs. Steven Drizin, legal director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, has called this "one of the weakest death-penalty cases" he has ever seen. In March, The Plain Dealer asked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for all documents about an inquiry into Hartman's investigative tactics from the late 1990s. The agency wouldn't release them. Spirko's lawyers have asked the state attorney general's office to demand all documents pertaining to Duerr's complaint. The office should comply. A man's life depends on it. Every postal inspector with concerns about Hartman needs to come forward and speak up. They should contact Gary Croft, chairman of the Ohio Parole Board, at 1050 Freeway Drive North, Columbus, Ohio 43229. Or fax him at 614-752-0600. As Duerr wrote: "It appears an individual who did not commit the crime is going to be executed."
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