Jury: Life sentence for McKinney

Spared the death penalty, Jermaine McKinney said, 'Life ain't no better than death.'
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A Trumbull County jury told Judge W. Wyatt McKay on Monday night that Jermaine McKinney should spend the rest of his life in prison -- without parole eligibility -- for killing two women in Newton Township.
Defense attorneys Larry Smith and Pat Millhoff reached across McKinney to shake hands for sparing their client the death penalty, but McKinney told the two: "I don't want to do life."
Minutes later, McKinney was led out of the courtroom and said, "Life ain't no better than death."
The jury had the option of sentencing McKinney to death, life without parole or life with parole eligibility after 25 or 30 years. The verdict was the culmination of more than five weeks of jury selection and testimony. The same jurors had found McKinney, 26, of Youngstown, guilty Nov. 3 of killing Wanda Rollyson, 70, and her daughter, Rebecca Cliburn, 45, in Rollyson's Newton Township home after a robbery.
Jurors, who deliberated the penalty for about six hours, filed out of the courtroom quietly -- none agreeing to talk about their decision. Judge McKay said a sentencing hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 29. Judge McKay could impose a lesser sentence, but not the death penalty.
Melissa Barry of Cortland, daughter of Cliburn and grandaughter of Rollyson, said she is "just happy that it's over." Barry had called police to her grandmother's house Dec. 22 after finding her car in the garage and no answer at the door.
Asked whether the life in prison sentence seemed appropriate, she said, "It was not up to me, so I'm happy."
Her brother, Nathan Vargo, said, "At least he won't be on the streets again." Cliburn has two other children who are younger.
Defense attorney Donald Malarcik of Akron, who grew up in Austintown, said his thoughts and prayers are with Barry. "She has my sympathy and respect."
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said the prosecution is respectful of the jury's verdict and said, "We're happy that the jury chose life without parole."
McKinney spoke
McKinney, who spoke to the jurors earlier Monday from the witness chair, said he never wanted to present mitigating factors to them -- or even go to trial. He went along with his defense team because mitigation specialist Pat Millhoff, an attorney from Akron, convinced him to. "She's become a dear friend. She wants me to keep going," McKinney said.
He told the jury he wanted to skip the mitigation phase -- which allows a defendant to give reasons why he should be spared the death penalty -- because he thought the jury had made up its mind earlier. He added, "As far as I'm concerned, my life is worthless."
McKinney said he grew up in a crack house, but he doesn't "blame none of that for this situation ... I don't blame my mother's drug history for this situation."
The unsworn statement was not subject to cross examination.
"It's not that I don't care, but what do you do if you have no options. Cutting me away from my kids for 25 or 30 years, I'm as good as dead anyway, so I mean in the end its either death or slow death, I really don't have an option," he said.
During the two days of mitigation evidence, McKinney's defense team asked many of his family members and caregivers to describe the neglectful parenting and dangerous conditions of his youth.
No effect
When Watkins took his turn at closing arguments, he agreed with McKinney that the mitigating evidence presented was insignificant. "We feel it had virtually nothing to do with the facts of the aggravating circumstances," Watkins said.
Watkins then attacked defense characterizations of McKinney's being a good father to his five children from four women. Watkins said McKinney has never paid child support to any of them. "And what's he [McKinney] doing in December [2005?]. He's with another woman -- the victim [Cliburn] -- deceiving her, having sex with her, having cocaine with her."
McKinney then committed the murders of Cliburn and Rollyson and aggravated burglary and robbery.
"He had options," Watkins said. "He could have left. Wanda is coming home from church at 8:30. He is waiting after killing the first victim to premeditatedly kill a 70-year-old woman. ... His mind is to kill the homeowner as she walks into the house. There can be no greater aggravating circumstance."
Referring to comments McKinney made earlier about growing up in Youngstown, Watkins said the home where the murders occurred is "not the street. ... It has nothing to do with the crime in Youngstown. It has to do with 2005 ... out in the country, where people live, hopefully with the freedom to go home and not be assaulted and killed."
& lt;a href="http://media.vindy.com/video/newswatch/video_player_hi.html" target="_blank" & gt;For a video of McKinney's unsworn statement to the jury before sentencing, click here. & lt;/a & gt;
runyan@vindy.com