Ohio Governor John Kasich's statement is available in Adobe .pdf format.
"Kasich Sides With Parole Board, Commutes Death Sentence," is AP coverage, via WOSU-FM.
Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich has granted clemency to a condemned inmate scheduled to die this month after being convicted of killing a Cleveland produce vendor.
Kasich’s decision follows Tuesday’s recommendation by the Ohio Parole Board in favor of mercy for Arthur Tyler, whose attorneys argue he is innocent in the 1983 shooting of Sander Leach.
Kasich reduced Tyler’s sentence to life without the possibility of parole, rejecting requests that Tyler be made eligible for parole for possible release.
"Kasich commutes death sentence, but won’t free prisoner despite parole-board decision," is by Alan Johnson of the Columbus Dispatch.
Kasich sided with the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, and against the unanimous Ohio Parole Board, in commuting Tyler’s death sentence to life without the possibility of parole.
“After carefully reviewing the case record with my legal counsel and studying the recommendations of the Parole Board, I’ve decided to commute Arthur Tyler’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole,” Kasich said in his clemency message. “The questions that continue around this case are fundamental, and the irregularities in the court proceedings are troubling. Arthur Tyler’s crime against Sander Leach and his family was heinous and this commutation in no way diminishes that, and I pray that Mr. Leach’s family can find peace and healing.”
Citing serious doubts about the evidence in the case, the board recommended on Tuesday that the death sentence be commuted so Tyler would be eligible for parole and get out of prison. Six of the 11 board members favored “immediate parole eligibility,” with the other five urging parole in two years.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, "Gov. John Kasich grants reprieve to death row inmate Arthur Tyler, commuting sentence to life without parole," by Robert Higgs.
Tyler’s case was controversial because he was one of two people convicted in the killing of Leach, but the only one sentenced to die.
And there are questions as to who actually pulled the trigger.
Tyler’s co-defendant, Leroy Head, confessed almost immediately. Head admitted to police, family and friends that he shot Leach in a struggle for the gun during the March 1983 robbery attempt, according to court records.
"Ohio governor commutes death sentence of convicted killer," is by Kim Palmer of Reuters, via GlobalPost.
An Ohio man convicted of killing a Cleveland produce vendor will leave death row after more than three decades and less than a month before his scheduled execution, but spend the rest of his life in prison, Governor John Kasich said Wednesday.
Arthur Tyler, 54, had been scheduled to be executed on May 28, but a state parole board panel recommended that Kasich grant him clemency in part because of questions over whether he had killed Sander Leach, 74, or was simply present when it happened.
Earlier coverage of Arthur Tyler's case begins at the link.
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