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The Plain Dealer
Taft Postpones Man's Execution To Allow New Clemency Hearing Friday, September 09, 2005
Sandra Livingston Gov. Bob Taft has delayed the execution of death-row inmate John Spirko so that the Ohio Parole Board can give him a second clemency hearing - an unprecedented move prompted by concerns that the board got inaccurate information in the first go-round. The board asked for a reprieve on Thursday and Taft agreed, saying he supported the request and would delay the execution from Sept. 20 to Nov. 15. The moves provided a respite for Spirko, who was convicted in 1984 for the slaying of a rural postmaster. He denies any involvement in the murder, but has lost a series of appeals over the past 20 years. And earlier this week a federal judge in Toledo declined to reopen his case, rejecting arguments that the state had used fraud to prevail. In a letter to Taft, Parole Board Chairman Gary Croft said "the persistent assertions that parties may have presented inaccurate information or misrepresented facts to the Parole Board causes serious concern." The board scheduled a new hearing for Oct. 12. Two weeks ago, The Plain Dealer reported that during Spirko's clemency hearing last month, a top lawyer for Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro made false claims about evidence in the case. Days later, a divided board recommended that Taft deny clemency for Spirko in the murder of Betty Jane Mottinger. Well before that decision, concerns were mounting that suspect evidence and an investigator whose credibility has recently been called into question were critical in convicting Spirko. "I think that this is one of the weakest death-penalty cases I've ever seen in terms of the evidence of a defendant's guilt," said Steven Drizin, legal director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. Drizin spoke on Spirko's behalf at the first clemency hearing. The parole board's request for time for a second hearing follows an effort by Petro to address the reports of earlier misstatements. Last Friday, Petro wrote to the board saying he did not believe there was any attempt to deceive during the clemency hearing. While he said he stood by his lawyers' presentation, he offered to have them participate in a full rehearing. Spirko's lawyers, who asked the board to accept the offer, said they were pleased by Thursday's development. "We hope the full board will consider all the evidence we present at the rehearing in an open and fair manner and decide to recommend that he be granted clemency," said lawyer Alvin Dunn. Petro, who has aggressively defended Spirko's conviction and pressed for his execution, was also pleased, according to his spokeswoman, Kim Norris. Drizin, of Northwestern University, noted that the parole board is not tethered to previous findings by trial or appeals courts. It has the chance to take a fresh look at the case, he said, and "to right wrongs that courts were either unable - because of the rules of appellate review - or unwilling to right."
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