Ohio killer spared after childhood abuse is revealed
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Friday spared a condemned killer whose sentence was challenged after a juror came forward and said information about the extent of the inmate’s tough childhood wasn’t properly presented at trial.
The Republican governor commuted the sentence of death row inmate Raymond Tibbetts to life without the possibility of parole, citing “fundamental flaws” in the sentencing portion of Tibbetts’ trial.
“Specifically, the defense’s failure to present sufficient mitigating evidence, coupled with an inaccurate description of Tibbetts’ childhood by the prosecution, essentially prevented the jury from making an informed decision about whether Tibbetts deserved the death sentence,” Kasich said.
The case against Tibbetts seemed closed until a former juror, Ross Geiger, came across materials presented on Tibbetts’ behalf to the Ohio Parole Board that documented horrific facts about Tibbetts’ early years, which jurors never heard.
When Tibbetts was a boy, he and his brothers were tied to a single bed at night, were not fed properly, were thrown down stairs, had their fingers beaten with spatulas and were burned on heating registers, according to Tibbetts’ application for mercy last year.
Geiger wrote Kasich in January citing his concerns and asking that Tibbetts be spared.
“I was just struck and frankly upset that information that was available was not even addressed, other than in very summary fashion,” Geiger told the board.
The panel again recommended against mercy for Tibbetts.
Kasich’s decision Friday rejected that ruling.