LUCASVILLE - For 14 years, Nancy and Chuck Serafino fought and pleaded for justice for their murdered mother.
In the end, it took 14 minutes for condemned killer Jason Getsy to be put to death Tuesday morning.
The siblings, formerly of Hubbard, attending trials and hearings, organized petition and letter drives, all begging for the court-ordered death sentence to be carried out against Jason Getsy, convicted in the 1995 brutal slaying of Ann Serafino.
Article Photos
Tribune Chronicle / Amanda Smith-Teutsch
Chuck Serafino and his sister Nancy speak Tuesday at the execution of Jason Getsy, pictured at left. With them is Nancy's husband, Doug.
Fourteen minutes passed between the time Getsy, 33, walked into the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville until the time prison officials pulled the curtain to the observation area, signaling his death by lethal injection.
Getsy was 19 years old when he murdered Ann Serafino, 66, and nearly killed her son Chuck Serafino July 7, 1995, inside their Hubbard home in a murder-for-hire scheme triggered by disputes over a Hubbard landscaping business.
''I would have felt like he won again if the sentence wasn't carried out,'' Nancy Serafino said after the execution. ''What happened was a lot more humane than what he did to my mother 14 years ago.''
The death house in Lucasville is a separate building in the prison, located deep inside the prison, behind guard towers and glittering razor-wire fence.
There were 19 witnesses to the execution. Four were Getsy's friends and family, three representatives of the Serafino family, along with prison staff and media witnesses.
At 10:03 a.m., prison staff began preparing Getsy for the execution. A closed-circuit camera system showed prison workers inserting shunts into his veins. Bald with light stubble of facial hair, Getsy was wearing a white shirt that left his tattooed forearms exposed, blue pants with a red strip and black and white tennis shoes. His arms were outstretched, exposing a large tattoo on his left forearm, a shunt piercing his skin just above the ink.
At 10:13 a.m., Getsy was helped off the preparation table in his holding cell and brought into the death chamber.
The death chamber at Lucasville is a small, dimly lit room built of cinderblock. The death table is in the center. A conduit holding the IV lines, through which the lethal cocktail of drugs is administered, enters through the front of the room. The room contains a microphone and a digital clock.
Getsy walked into the room, accompanied by the state director of the department of Rehabilitation and Correction Terry Collins and Lucasville warden Phillip Kerns. He lay down on the table and was strapped down by prison guards. Workers secured the IV lines to the shunts and quickly left the room, leaving Kerns, Collins and Getsy.
His family leaned forward on their side of the witness chamber, grasping hands. The Serafinos sat stoically, not making a sound or touching, and leaned back in their chairs. He gave a slow wink with his left eye at his loved ones through the two-way glass.
At 10:16 a.m., Getsy was asked if he wanted to make a final statement.
''To Chuck and Nancy Serafino and your loved ones, for all the pain I have caused you it is my earnest prayer that God grants you peace,'' he said, looking directly at Chuck and Nancy. ''I am sorry. It is a little word, I know, but it is true. For everyone else, God is so great that He gave His only son that I may be forgiven of all my sins. Even today I can say how blessed I am that the Holy Spirit lives in me.''
The signal was given to start the execution. His head drifted to the left, pointed at his aunt and uncle. His eyes closed as the first drug, designed to render him unconscious, began. One of Getsy's witnesses was heard to say, "Yes my friend, yes, sleep." Soft sobs were heard from his family.
His chest gave three enormous heaves in quick succession. At 10:19 a.m. the breathing slowed. Warden Kerns shook Getsy's shoulder and spoke his name.
A small smile was on Getsy's lips. He did not respond.
The signal was given for the execution to proceed. The second drug was administered to relax his muscles and the third and final injection stopped his heart. A reddish purple pallor came over his face and shaved head.
At 10:27 a.m., the curtain looking in to the death chamber was pulled shut. When it opened two minutes later, Getsy's face was pointed up to the ceiling and a voice pronounced him dead at 10:29 a.m.
His body was taken to a waiting hearse. His remains will be cremated and released to his family, per his final instructions. His uncle Ron Manes, who witnessed the execution, was given control of Getsy's property, including his final letters and his Bible.
After the execution, Chuck Serafino and Nancy Serafino spoke about their experiences.
Nancy said she believed Getsy's last words.
''I think I believed him,'' she said. ''I think he was sorry, at the end. Does it make a difference? No. But I think his words, his apology, were genuine.''
Chuck said Getsy paid for his actions.
''I have wanted him to tell the truth for 14 years, and he still didn't do that,'' Chuck said. ''He lied to the courts. He lied to the parole board.''
Still, Chuck said he accepted Getsy's words.
''I've forgiven him, but I am going on with my day,'' said Chuck Serafino.