Strickland: Clemency for Getsy not warranted

Getsy, 33, is scheduled for death by lethal injection Tuesday in Lucasville.

COLUMBUS — Convicted murderer Jason Getsy will face execution as scheduled Tuesday, after Gov. Ted Strickland denied clemency Friday.

Strickland’s decision countered that of the state parole board, which, in a 5-2 decision, said that Getsy’s co-defendants — including the man behind the 1995 murder-for-hire — did not receive capital penalties for the crime, so Getsy shouldn’t either.

In his decision against clemency, Strickland wrote, “Substantial attention has been focused on the different sentences imposed upon Mr. Getsy and his co-defendant, Mr. [John] Santine.

“Mr. Getsy and Mr. Santine had different roles in the murder. The fact that Mr. Santine was not sentenced to death is not, by itself, justification to commute Mr. Getsy’s sentence. Mr. Getsy’s sentence was based on his conduct, and based upon our review, which included consideration of the differing Santine and Getsy sentences, I do not believe executive clemency is warranted.”

Getsy was convicted in the aggravated murder of Ann R. Serafino and the attempted murder of her son, Charles Serafino.

Nancy Serafino, daughter of Ann R. Serafino and sister of Charles Serafino, said Friday night she is “unbelievably relieved” that Strickland chose death for Getsy.

When Miriam Fife, victim-witness advocate for Trumbull County, called her with the news, “I just cried. I cried harder than I’ve cried in a long time,” she said.

The past six weeks have been very emotional, Serafino said, because she never expected the parole board to recommend clemency. That decision shook her confidence in the legal process and left her feeling the chances of Strickland’s choosing death were only 50/50.

She, Fife and others led a petition drive to ask the governor to overrule the parole board, but she feels certain that Strickland was more concerned with the law than public sentiment.

Commenting on Getsy’s recent remarks about his faith in God, Fife said, “Mr. Getsy may be truly remorseful, and he may have found God the way many of these prisoners do, but he needs to receive his punishment on Earth and take up his mercy issue with God.”

Fife will travel to Lucasville for the execution to support the Serafino family.

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, who was informed of Strickland’s decision early Friday, said the governor made the right decision.

“The governor, in his independent review, made the right call and showed that he is a person that’s going to make his decision based on the facts and the crime on every case in an individualized basis,” Watkins said. “And nothing can speak better about the governor of Ohio than the care he has taken in each and every one of these death-penalty cases.”

He added, “This is a victory for the local folks. This was the right call. Justice won today.”

The Mahoning Valley Chiefs of Police Association also had asked Strickland to allow the execution. The organization represents top administrators from 48 local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties.

Getsy, 33, is scheduled for death by lethal injection at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. He will be transported to the prison from the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown.

According to court documents, Getsy and two other men were hired to kill Charles Serafino by another individual over a business disagreement. Serafino, though shot in the face at point-blank range, survived.

Serafino had told The Vindicator he was confident that Strickland would carry out Getsy’s death sentence. Serafino said Watkins did a “perfect” job in the trial and in his arguments to the parole board earlier this month. Serafino said he found it troubling that Getsy was able to generate sympathy from the parole board by citing some unfortunate circumstances involving his upbringing.

“I’m sorry for that, but there are a lot of people who have it rough, and they don’t come in a house and kill someone,” he said.

In making its clemency decision, the parole board noted that four defendants participated in the crime, which was initiated by Santine.

“Mr. Santine exerted considerable influence over the co-defendants,” the board stated. “Santine’s jury, however, rejected a single death-penalty specification of murder-for-hire resulting in a sentence of life imprisonment. Getsy is the actual killer, and Santine directed the assault on the Serafinos from beginning to end.”

In an interview conducted by the Statehouse press corps, Getsy said he was afraid of Santine and did not take part in the murder for money.