Post by carolinem on Jan 11, 2007 13:32:39 GMT -5
Parents want governor to spare life of daughter's killer
Thursday, 11 January 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The parents of a slain college student want Gov. Ted Strickland to spare the life of her killer because their daughter was opposed to the death penalty.
Gregory McKnight, 30, was convicted in 2002 of kidnapping and killing 20-year-old Emily Murray, a Kenyon College philosophy student who worked with McKnight at a pizza restaurant. Her body was found wrapped in a carpet in McKnight's trailer in Vinton County in southern Ohio.
Murray's parents plan to ask Strickland, a Democrat who took office Monday, to grant McKnight clemency. The governor would need an Ohio Parole Board recommendation _ which he could ask for _ to act on the request.
Thomas and Cynthia Murray, of Cold Spring, N.Y., said their daughter's opposition to capital punishment outweighed any thoughts of wanting revenge against McKnight.
"It's about Emily. It's about the people of Ohio. When we execute someone, in some subtle ways, we may harm ourselves," Thomas Murray told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Thursday.
If McKnight was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, "We would have less reason to think about him," Cynthia Murray said.
McKnight declined the newspaper's request for an interview based on advice from his public defender, Ruth Tkacz.
"We certainly have nothing but respect for their wishes," Tkacz said of the Murrays. "It takes a lot of courage for them to come forward with this request."
In an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2005, public defender Robert Lowe argued that jurors weren't told Emily Murray opposed capital punishment.
State and local prosecutors were not allowed to participate because they missed by one day the filing deadline to present written and oral arguments before the court. Justices still upheld McKnight's death sentence and conviction.
Vinton County Prosecutor Timothy Gleeson, who helped put McKnight on death row, said Ohio's new governor should consider the Murrays' request even though Gleeson believes the sentence was justified.
"I would actually encourage the governor to consider what they have to say. I very much appreciate and respect the Murrays' opinion on this. They have a unique perspective," Gleeson said.
Strickland, a former prison psychologist, supports the death penalty. But he has questioned the fairness of capital punishment because of cases around the country in which new scientific evidence exonerates inmates after long stays on death row.
Gleeson received help in the case from the state attorney general's office after Vinton County Judge Jeffrey Simmons ruled local prosecutors could not seek the death penalty because the county might not be able to afford a proper prosecution and pay for McKnight's defense. The decision drew national attention, and the judge changed his mind when the state decided to pitch in.
After finding Emily Murray's body, police found the bones of a friend of McKnight, Gregory Julious, 20, of Chillicothe, whose body had been dismembered and burned. McKnight was sentenced to life in prison for that killing.
___
Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, www.dispatch.com
Thursday, 11 January 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The parents of a slain college student want Gov. Ted Strickland to spare the life of her killer because their daughter was opposed to the death penalty.
Gregory McKnight, 30, was convicted in 2002 of kidnapping and killing 20-year-old Emily Murray, a Kenyon College philosophy student who worked with McKnight at a pizza restaurant. Her body was found wrapped in a carpet in McKnight's trailer in Vinton County in southern Ohio.
Murray's parents plan to ask Strickland, a Democrat who took office Monday, to grant McKnight clemency. The governor would need an Ohio Parole Board recommendation _ which he could ask for _ to act on the request.
Thomas and Cynthia Murray, of Cold Spring, N.Y., said their daughter's opposition to capital punishment outweighed any thoughts of wanting revenge against McKnight.
"It's about Emily. It's about the people of Ohio. When we execute someone, in some subtle ways, we may harm ourselves," Thomas Murray told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Thursday.
If McKnight was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, "We would have less reason to think about him," Cynthia Murray said.
McKnight declined the newspaper's request for an interview based on advice from his public defender, Ruth Tkacz.
"We certainly have nothing but respect for their wishes," Tkacz said of the Murrays. "It takes a lot of courage for them to come forward with this request."
In an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2005, public defender Robert Lowe argued that jurors weren't told Emily Murray opposed capital punishment.
State and local prosecutors were not allowed to participate because they missed by one day the filing deadline to present written and oral arguments before the court. Justices still upheld McKnight's death sentence and conviction.
Vinton County Prosecutor Timothy Gleeson, who helped put McKnight on death row, said Ohio's new governor should consider the Murrays' request even though Gleeson believes the sentence was justified.
"I would actually encourage the governor to consider what they have to say. I very much appreciate and respect the Murrays' opinion on this. They have a unique perspective," Gleeson said.
Strickland, a former prison psychologist, supports the death penalty. But he has questioned the fairness of capital punishment because of cases around the country in which new scientific evidence exonerates inmates after long stays on death row.
Gleeson received help in the case from the state attorney general's office after Vinton County Judge Jeffrey Simmons ruled local prosecutors could not seek the death penalty because the county might not be able to afford a proper prosecution and pay for McKnight's defense. The decision drew national attention, and the judge changed his mind when the state decided to pitch in.
After finding Emily Murray's body, police found the bones of a friend of McKnight, Gregory Julious, 20, of Chillicothe, whose body had been dismembered and burned. McKnight was sentenced to life in prison for that killing.
___
Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, www.dispatch.com