SHARON Kidnap-murder case convict wins rehearing

An Ohio case resulted in the rehearing of some 2,000 cases.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Linda J. Karlen, serving five to 15 years in an Ohio prison for conspiracy to commit kidnapping, will get a new parole hearing.
The Ohio Parole Board denied parole to Karlen, 50, formerly of Greenville and Sharon, in December 1999, ruling she must complete her maximum sentence, which won't be up until January 2005.
She was sentenced in Summit County Common Pleas Court in January 1990 in the abduction and murder of Roger Pratt in Akron in June 1988.
An Ohio Supreme Court ruling handed down last year in Layne vs. Ohio Adult Probation and Parole will get her a rehearing of that 1999 parole review, said JoEllen Culp, spokeswoman for the Ohio Parole Board.
That ruling said some Ohio inmates may have improperly been given too high an offense category ranking for purposes of their parole hearing.
The ranking, based on the offense, the inmate's criminal history, prison behavior and other factors, is used in determining how much longer an inmate will remain incarcerated.
Has to grant rehearings
Culp said the Ohio Parole Board has to grant rehearings in more than 2,000 cases and began the process in March.
About 180 have been heard and Karlen's case is set for June 24 or 25 where she is being held.
The announcement was bad news for Michael Pratt of Warren, Ohio, the victim's brother, who has opposed all attempts at parole by Karlen and others involved in the death.
Michael Pratt hopes to participate in a victim's conference in Columbus to again oppose her parole effort.
He said he was just notified of the rehearing Friday, and that doesn't leave him time to solicit letters and petitions opposing her parole.
People can still contact the Ohio Parole Board in Columbus on their own if they wish to register their opposition, Pratt said.
Letters and petitions considered by the board in its 1999 hearing for Karlen are still valid and will be considered at the rehearing, Pratt said.
Wouldn't free her
Even if the rehearing gets Karlen an earlier release date, she won't be free.
She will be turned over to Pennsylvania authorities to begin serving a sentence of five to 10 years on a guilty plea to a charge of arson in a May 1988 fire that destroyed a furniture store in Greenville in which she was a partner.
Karlen filled a petition in Mercer County Common Pleas Court in April trying to cancel her plea in the arson case. No hearing has been set.
Two brothers from Tiltonsville, Ohio, also were convicted in 1990 in the Pratt slaying.
Edward Swiger, 39, is serving 40 years to life for aggravated murder and kidnapping. Michael Swiger, 35, is serving 21 to 53 years for involuntary manslaughter and kidnapping.