Top court overturns death sentence

In three other cases, the sentences were reversed by judges in trial courts.

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the death sentence of a man who argued he was mentally retarded, the first time the court has reversed an execution sentence since the U.S. Supreme Court said it is unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded.

The court ruled unanimously in favor of convicted killer Clifton White of Akron and sent his case back to the trial court in Akron for resentencing.

White is the fourth Ohio death row inmate to have his sentence overturned because of mental retardation claims. Judges in trial courts reversed the other three sentences.

The court based its decision in White’s case on a 2002 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that found executing the mentally retarded violates the constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

White was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Deborah Thorpe in Akron. He also killed Julie Schrey in the same attack and wounded Thorpe’s 19-year-old son, Michael.

Prosecutors say White was angry over his breakup with Schrey’s daughter.

The court rejected lower court rulings that said White did not meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s three-prong test for mental retardation.

That test requires a low IQ generally under 70, a lack of basic skills such as communication or living by himself, and the onset of mental retardation symptoms before age 18.

No evidence was presented “to suggest that White’s current impairments could be explained by anything that happened after he turned 18, such as a brain injury,” wrote Justice Robert Cupp. “Nor does anything in White’s history indicate that he functioned at a higher level before age 18 than he does today.”

The court also rejected the trial court questioning of White’s mental retardation claim based on the fact that he was adept at video games.

“It is not clear, however, what relevance White’s video-game skills have to mental retardation,” Cupp said.

During his 1996 sentencing hearing, White argued unsuccessfully that he was mentally retarded in hopes a jury would consider that as one factor against a death sentence.

At resentencing in Summit County Common Pleas Court, White could receive a revised sentence of up to 30 years to life. An Ohio law allowing for life in prison without the possibility of parole was not in effect when White committed his crimes.

Despite the ruling, the 35-year-old White will still likely spend his life in prison. Wednesday’s ruling does not affect his sentences for the murder of Schrey, or the attempted murder of Michael Thorpe and his use of guns during those crimes, for which he must serve a combined 46 years to life.

A prosecutor’s spokeswoman said an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was unlikely because Wednesday’s ruling cited so many of those court’s decisions on the issue.

“We’re always disappointed on behalf of the victim when a court reverses a decision that a jury and judge make,” said Mary Ann Kovach, chief counsel for the Summit County prosecutor’s office.

Defense attorney Kathryn Sandford said she was pleased with the ruling and had already spoken to White.

“He’s very happy,” Sandford said. “He’s very relieved.”

Schrey was the mother of White’s former girlfriend, who broke up with White because he was abusive, according to a summary of the case by the Ohio attorney general’s office.

When Deborah Thorpe and Schrey went to White’s house to pick up belongings, White shot them. White then went to the workplace of Schrey’s daughter and tried to attack her, shooting Michael Thorpe in the head when he intervened, according to the attorney general’s office and Wednesday’s court ruling.

In addition to White, 34 other inmates have made claims of mental retardation since 2002. Most are still pending while some inmates have withdrawn the claims, according to the state public defender’s office.