KOLISER TRIAL With guilty verdicts, final decision is left

The case will move to a second trial where Koliser's fate will be decided.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;By BOB JACKSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Now it comes down to life or death for Martin L. Koliser Jr.
After being convicted by a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court jury Thursday of killing Youngstown Patrolman Michael Hartzell and trying to kill Donell Rowe, Koliser's lawyers must try to persuade a jury to spare his life.
Prosecutors will argue that Koliser deserves to die by lethal injection, which is how Ohio executes criminal defendants who are sentenced to death.
"That's what the indictment says, and that's what we're after," Prosecutor Paul Gains said.
Two-hour deliberations
Jurors deliberated two hours Thursday before returning with guilty verdicts on all counts:
* Aggravated murder for the shooting death of 26-year-old Hartzell, who was shot once in the chest and twice in the head while sitting in his stopped police car at 2:19 a.m. April 29 on West Federal Street.
Koliser could get the death penalty because jurors found him guilty on each of three capital specifications: that he intentionally killed a police officer, that he killed or attempted to kill two or more people and that he killed Hartzell to avoid capture and prosecution for another crime.
He also could be sentenced to life in prison without parole, or with parole eligibility after serving at least 25 or 30 years.
* Attempted murder for firing one shot into Rowe's chest at point-blank range outside the Casaloma Gardens bar on Mahoning Avenue about two hours before Hartzell's shooting. He faces three to 10 years for this conviction.
Each charge carries a firearm specification, meaning Koliser used a gun to commit the crimes. Each specification carries a mandatory three-year prison sentence. The prison sentences could be imposed consecutively or concurrently.
The jury's two hours behind closed doors included time spent selecting a foreman, eating lunch that was ordered and served in the jury room, deliberating the case and individually signing each of the seven verdict forms.
There was a form for each of the two charges, each of the three capital specifications and each of the two firearm specifications.
Reactions
Koliser, 30, of Boardman, showed no reaction as the verdicts were announced. He stood with his hands in his pockets as jurors filed into the courtroom, then sat smiling with his hands folded across his lap as he awaited the verdicts.
When deputy sheriffs brought Koliser into the courtroom before the jury's arrival, he held out his hands and feet to be unshackled, sat down, poured a glass of water, rocked back and forth in his chair and started singing softly to himself.
Hartzell's family, friends and fellow police officers, who had packed Judge R. Scott Krichbaum's courtroom throughout the trial, reacted with silent tears when the verdicts were announced. Afterward, they cried and hugged in the hall outside the courtroom.
"It's a relief for the entire community and for the entire police force," said Hartzell's father, Howard Hartzell. He declined to comment further until after Koliser is sentenced.
Judge Krichbaum will preside over what amounts to a second trial, during which the same jurors will recommend whether Koliser be put to death for Hartzell's murder or be sentenced to one of the prison options. That trial will start Wednesday morning and is expected to last one or two days.
How it works
If the jury recommends the death penalty, Judge Krichbaum could instead sentence Koliser to one of the life imprisonment options. If the jury recommends a prison sentence, though, the judge cannot impose the death penalty.
Koliser's lawyers, William Mooney and Jerry McHenry, will present evidence during the penalty phase about Koliser and his background, aimed and persuading jurors that his life is worth sparing despite the crimes he's convicted of committing.
They declined to comment Thursday on the verdict or on what type of case they will present next week.
During the penalty phase, the defense team will have the option of putting Koliser on the witness stand, where he would be subject to cross-examination by prosecutors, or allowing him to make an unsworn statement.
Such statements, in which the defendant is not required to take an oath and is not subject to cross-examination, are permitted in Ohio capital cases.
Koliser also could choose to remain silent, as he did during the first trial.
Gains and assistant prosecutor Jay Macejko will come to court armed with reasons why they believe any mitigating factors presented by the defense are outweighed by the aggravating circumstances of Koliser's crimes.
'A difficult process'
"It's a difficult process, and it's different in every case," said John B. Juhasz, a longtime criminal defense attorney and a veteran of several death-penalty trials.
"You're trying to find something that will say to the jury that this is a person that is, in some fashion, redeemable," Juhasz said.
He said some defendants are more difficult than others to find redeemable qualities for presentation to a jury.
"In some cases there is just not a lot of mitigation," he said. "And sometimes the type of mitigation you have doesn't necessarily appeal to a jury."
He said juries often are not swayed by testimony about a criminal defendant's rough upbringing, troubled childhood or addiction problems. That makes it even more difficult to find some shred of hope for avoiding execution, he said.
Juhasz said Koliser could opt against letting his lawyers present any mitigating evidence on his behalf and moving directly to sentencing. He would have to be evaluated and deemed mentally competent to make such a move, Juhasz said.
Youngstown Detective Sgt. John Kelty testified during the trial that when Koliser confessed to him, he asked how long it would take for him to be executed if he is sentenced to death and does not pursue appeals.
Bjackson@vindy.com