UPDATE -- The, "Governor's Statement on Parole Board Recommendation Regarding Richard Nields," has been released. Here's an extended excerpt:
"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."
"Ohio governor grants clemency to condemned killer," is the title of Andrew Welsh-Huggins AP report, via Google News.
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.
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."
Alan Johnson writes, "Strickland grants clemency to killer," for the Columbus Dispatch.
The Parole Board concluded, and Strickland agreed, that medical testimony in Nields' original trial was unreliable. Both also cited a strong dissent in the case by Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul E. Pfeiffer and concerns expressed by the 6th U.S. Circuit County of Appeals which said Nields' crime "just barely" got him over the threshold in Ohio's capital punishment law.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters strongly criticized the clemency recommendation, calling it improper second-guessing of decisions made by jurors and courts years after the fact.
Earlier coverage of the case begins with this post; disputed forensics in the case, here. The Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice's recent call for a review of the state's death sentences is noted here. Related posts are in the clemency index.
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