MURDER CASE Jury advises life in prison for slayings

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) -- After weighing the viciousness of the crime against the defendant's horrific childhood, a jury recommended life in prison without parole for a man convicted of murdering a Hamilton couple.
The Butler County Common Pleas jury deliberated for more than 10 hours before reaching a decision early Tuesday in the case of Jason Campbell, 22, of Middletown.
He was convicted of robbing and killing Donald Riley 44, and his wife, Helen, 55, as they slept in their home last February. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty.
"I don't fear death because I have God with me, but I do want to live so I can atone for my actions," Campbell said as he asked for mercy Tuesday.
Apology
Campbell, who confessed to strangling Donald Riley and stabbing and slitting Helen Riley's throat after his escape from a minimum-security facility, took the witness stand Tuesday to apologize.
"To the families of the victims and the victims themselves, I'm sorry for what I've done and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me," Campbell said, reading from a handwritten statement. "I can't forgive myself and probably never will."
Campbell ended his statement with a poem describing what he believed his last moments would be like.
"They will come and tell me it's time," he said. "They will ask me how I am. I'll say I'm fine. I probably won't be remembered for anything I've said. If I am, let it be that I'm sorry for what I did."
Earlier this week, a psychologist testified that Campbell was abused and neglected as a child and was irreparably damaged by age 11. His biological and adoptive sisters also testified about abuse Campbell witnessed and suffered in his adoptive home between the ages of 18 months and 11 years.