"IN A RARE GESTURE, GOV. TED STRICKLAND ON FRIDAY SPARED AN INMATE WHO WAS SCHEDULED TO BE EXECUTED NEXT WEEK, CITING COURT DECISIONS THAT QUESTIONED THE DEATH SENTENCE AND PROBLEMS WITH TRIAL TESTIMONY. STRICKLAND ANNOUNCED HE WAS GRANTING CLEMENCY TO RICHARD NIELDS, WHO STRANGLED HIS GIRLFRIEND IN 1997 DURING AN ARGUMENT IN SUBURBAN CINCINNATI. STRICKLAND, A DEMOCRAT, SAID HE MADE THE DECISION AFTER REVIEWING NIELDS' CASE, PREVIOUS COURT RULINGS AND LAST MONTH'S RECOMMENDATION BY THE OHIO PAROLE BOARD THAT NIELDS BE SPARED. "BASED ON THIS REVIEW, I CONCUR WITH THE RATIONALE AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE OHIO PAROLE BOARD MAJORITY," STRICKLAND SAID."
REPORTER ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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BACKGROUND: Richard Nields was on death row having been convicted of killing his girlfriend Patricia Newsome in Springfield Township (just outside Cincinnati). The Supreme Court of Ohio has scheduled his murder for June 10. The Ohio Parole Board hearing was held May 10. The Parole Board issued its report and recommendation on May 18, 2010. By a 4-3 vote, it recommends that the Ted commute the sentence to life without parole. The ball then moved into the Governor's court.
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"COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a rare gesture, Gov. Ted Strickland on Friday spared an inmate who was scheduled to be executed next week, citing court decisions that questioned the death sentence and problems with trial testimony," the Associated Press story by reporter Andrew Welsh-Huggins published earlier today begins, under the heading, "Ohio governor grants clemency to condemned killer."
"Strickland announced he was granting clemency to Richard Nields, who strangled his girlfriend in 1997 during an argument in suburban Cincinnati." the story continues.
"Strickland, a Democrat, said he made the decision after reviewing Nields' case, previous court rulings and last month's recommendation by the Ohio Parole Board that Nields be spared.
"Based on this review, I concur with the rationale and recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board majority," Strickland said.
The state has executed 14 men since Strickland, a Democrat, took office in 2007.
The parole board has recommended mercy for inmates three times under Strickland. He has followed the board's recommendation twice.
He overrode the board in 2009 and allowed Jason Getsy to be executed. He also spared John Spirko in 2007 despite recommendations by the board under Strickland's predecessor that Spirko be executed.
Nields' attorneys applauded Friday's decision.
"A death sentence should be reserved for the worst of the worst cases," said federal public defender Carol Wright. "The facts of Richard's case were never the worst of the worst."
Dr. Paul Shrode, then training in a medical fellowship at the Hamilton County coroner's office, testified at Nields' 1997 trial that bruising on the victim proved Nields beat his girlfriend, Patricia Newsome, then returned 15 minutes later to strangle her.
But the deputy coroner who supervised Shrode at the time told the parole board that Shrode's conclusions were not supported by science. Dr. Robert Pfalzgraf, then a deputy coroner, said there was no scientific evidence to support how old the bruises on Newsome's body were.
Nields' attorneys argued that Shrode, a recent medical school graduate who had not yet completed his coroner's fellowship, was not as experienced as Pfalzgraf but was chosen by prosecutors over Pfalzgraf to testify at trial.
Juries in Ohio must find offenders guilty of a serious secondary offense — such as rape, arson or aggravated robbery — in addition to aggravated murder to recommend a death sentence.
Nields was convicted of aggravated robbery for taking Newsome's car and money from her purse. But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals questioned whether those acts supported the robbery charge and said his death sentence barely fit the definition of capital punishment under Ohio law.
The parole board also cited a judge's dissent in a 2001 decision by the Ohio Supreme Court that upheld Nields' death sentence.
Justice Paul Pfeifer, who helped write Ohio's death penalty law as a state legislator in 1981, wrote that Nields' crime was not what lawmakers considered as a case eligible for the death penalty when creating the law.
"This case is not about robbery," Pfeifer wrote. "It is about alcoholism, rage and rejection and about Nields' inability to cope with any of them.""
The story can be found at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100604/ap_on_re_us/us_death_penalty_ohio
Governor Strickland's statement on Parole Board Recommendation Regarding Richard Nields:
Columbus, OH --Governor Ted Strickland today issued the following statement regarding the pending clemency application of Richard Nields:
"As a result of his conviction for aggravated murder, Mr. Richard Nields is scheduled to be executed on June 10, 2010. I have completed a review of the circumstances surrounding his case to determine if executive clemency is warranted.
"On May 10, 2010, a majority of the members of the Ohio Parole Board recommended that Mr. Nields be granted a commutation of his death sentence to a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Parole Board majority cited three basic reasons for its recommendation: the medical testimony of Dr. Shrode, which was relied on at trial by the prosecutor and the trial judge but subsequently called into substantial question; the dissent of Justice Pfeiffer to the Ohio Supreme Court decision upholding Mr. Nields' conviction; and the concerns expressed by the Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit who affirmed Mr. Nields' conviction but noted that ?the circumstances of this case just barely get Nields over the death threshold under Ohio law.?
"In making my determination regarding Mr. Nields' clemency application, my staff and I have reviewed the judicial decisions regarding Mr. Nields? conviction, Mr. Nields' application for executive clemency and its appendix, and arguments presented for and against clemency at the Parole Board hearing regarding his application for executive clemency. We also reviewed institutional records and letters received in the Governor's Office regarding this matter, the Parole Board's report and recommendation, and the exhibits presented at the Parole Board's hearing. In addition, we have reviewed the materials submitted to the Governor's Office by Mr. Nields' counsel after the Parole Board made its recommendation.
"Based on this review, I concur with the rationale and recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board majority and have, therefore, decided to commute Mr. Nields' sentence to a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole."
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
