Killer awaits word on clemency
By CHRISTOPHER BOBBY Tribune ChronicleCOLUMBUS - Ohio's Adult Parole Board will have a recommendation to the governor's office next week regarding the clemency request for death row inmate Jason Getsy.
The board spent several hours Thursday hearing from Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, who is trying to convince the eight-member panel that Getsy, sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of a Hubbard woman, be executed next month.
Getsy's court-appointed appellate attorney, David C. Stebbins, urged the board in Columbus to spare his client's life.
The board is expected to have a recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland by July 17. Getsy is scheduled to be put to death on Aug. 18. Strickland will have the final decision on clemency.
During the more than five-hour hearing, Getsy's family members and his pastor sought mercy for the convicted killer in the form of a life sentence.
Charles Serafino, who survived the attack by Getsy, told the board he received jailhouse letters from Getsy, who apparently was trying to explain the events on the night of the attack that led to the death of Serafino's mother.
Serafino, who admitted soliciting the letters as a way to find out more details of the murder, said he thought Getsy hasn't shown any remorse for the killing.
''He doesn't care one bit,'' Serafino said. ''I got three letters. He lied, lied, lied.''
Serafino, who spent a brief time in prison on a drug charge while the letters were sent to him, offered to show Getsy family members the scars he suffered from multiple bullet wounds.
''I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my mother before she died. You all can. You got a month,'' he said.
Getsy was convicted in 1995 of aggravated murder in the slaying of Ann Serafino, 68, of Hubbard, and of the attempted murder of her son.
Prosecutors said John Santine offered Getsy and two others $5,000 to kill Charles Serafino, a business rival, and any witnesses because of a dispute over Serafino's landscaping business. Ann Serafino was killed because she was at home when the gunmen attacked, authorities said.
Santine was convicted on an aggravated murder charge. Other co-defendants Richard McNulty and Ben Hudach pleaded guilty. All three men got life in prison.
''The way my mother died haunts me daily,'' said Serafino's sister Nancy. ''I've been numb, on auto pilot these last 14 years.''
The woman and Watkins pointed out how Getsy was still a juvenile when he shot a friend in the head and killed him in 1992 while playing a version of Russian roulette. He was placed on probation and underwent only brief counseling for the negligent homicide of 14-year-old Gary Routh Jr.
Much of the debate Thursday centered on whether Getsy and other conspirators were truly afraid of threats by Santine.
Watkins countered Stebbins' version of an episode when Santine supposedly waved a gun in front of Getsy, Hudach and McNulty.
''No one ever said they saw that,'' Watkins pointed out. ''He (Getsy) was a soldier on mission that night. He wasn't acting out of fear.''
''It was malicious, intentional, gratuitous violence,'' the prosecutors said.
Stebbins repeated proportionality arguments that have been made in Getsy's behalf. He said since Santine never got the death penalty, it wasn't fair for Getsy to be executed.
Watkins argued that Getsy was found to be the principle offender in the killing and the attempts on Charles Serafino's life.
''Respect has to be given for the jury that considered Jason's case. And the jury never knew that Jason killed before,'' Watkins said.
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Dvlschild
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07-10-09 4:15 PM
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so it started when he was younger, and they say you can be rehabilitated, some maybe can, but this one sounds like a can't!!!!! Bye, Bye killer
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Sassysue
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07-10-09 3:17 PM
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No brainer......DENIED!!
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midname
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07-10-09 11:24 AM
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OOO RONNIE I WOULD BE MORE SAD TO HAVE TO PUT A POOR DOG DOWN.BUT HIM,NO PROBLEM!!
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tickedoffmom
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07-10-09 8:48 AM
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Screw giving him life in prison. This poor lady could have lived another 20 yrs or better, but this scum bag and the others ended her life. I say lets clean up these prisons, do like they did in the old west, if found guity hang them now..forget waiting. After Getsy gets his needle lets go and get Danny Hill...so Mrs. Fife can get her closure. Lets clean up the Courts systems and get rid of these sleeze bags
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JKFWKK
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07-10-09 7:42 AM
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Another coward. Won't hesitate to take a life but a coward when it comes to dying. Scum like this should not remain safely behind bars getting medical care and meals at taxpayer expense while our bravest and brightest are overseas risking their lives.
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OldManGrump2
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07-10-09 6:13 AM
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Needle him up. He deserves to die for what he did. God says an eye for eye.
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HoofHearted
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07-10-09 2:39 AM
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I would like to volunteer to inject the needle, or press the magic button for the chair, however he likes it, just as long as he dies on Aug 18th. Don't spend another dime on appeals for this idiot.
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