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WARREN — The grandson of Jacob LaRosa’s murder victim has taken to the road in Ohio this week to protest a new state law that would give LaRosa an earlier chance to be released from prison.
Brian Kirk, of southwest Florida and formerly of Niles, made a stop at the Trumbull County courthouse Friday with several family members and friends of 94-year-old Marie Belcastro, who was murdered by the then-15-year-old LaRosa on March 30, 2015.
Earlier this year, Ohio legislators passed Senate Bill 256 which abolishes life without parole sentences for juvenile criminals, like LaRosa, who will be first eligible for supervised release in 2040.
Kirk founded the Ohio Coalition for Safety and Fairness to protest this bill, and he thinks its passage was an injustice.
“I am at one of my favorite places — the Trumbull County courthouse — where Judge W. Wyatt McKay had sentenced my grandmother’s killer to life plus 31 years,” said Kirk, who brought along signs telling Gov. Mike DeWine and other legislators to do something to counter the effects of the new law. “Make sure that justice is served. Don’t undo what judges and juries in Ohio have decided.”
While Kirk says he often prays for LaRosa, he said he thinks the killer could be free — in a spiritual sense — while staying behind bars.
“OK, we all agree that kids deserve a second chance. But you look deeper into a case like this, which was adjudicated through the juvenile court system, then you see that the legislators weren’t paying attention to the consequences of this bill. They aren’t protecting not just my family, but society from the likes of Jacob.”
In the last few weeks, Kirk has held or will have 13 events statewide to protest SB 256.
Read MORE in Saturday’s TRIBUNE CHRONICLE.