Clemency hearing set in ’95 Hubbard slaying

By Marc Kovac

The defendant was convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme.

COLUMBUS — The state parole board will conduct a clemency hearing next week for a man facing execution over the murder of a Hubbard Township woman more than a decade ago.

Jason Getsy, 33, is scheduled for execution Aug. 18 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. He has been on death row since 1996 and is incarcerated at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown.

The state parole board will meet at 10 a.m. July 9 to consider whether Getsy should be granted clemency. It will forward its recommendation to Gov. Ted Strickland for a final decision sometime before the execution date.

Getsy, formerly of Hubbard, was convicted in the aggravated murder of Ann R. Serafino, 68, and the attempted murder of her son, Charles Serafino, in July 1995 at their Hubbard Township home.

According to court documents, John Santine hired Getsy and two other men for $5,000 to kill Charles Serafino, 33, over a business disagreement. Serafino, though shot in the face at point-blank range, survived the attack. Ann Serafino was killed because she happened to be home when the gunmen attacked, authorities said.

Getsy admitted his involvement to law enforcement, indicating “that he participated in the shooting because he was scared ... but did not do it for the money,” according to documents.

A witness later said Getsy bragged about the shooting: He “grabbed a piece of pizza with no cheese on it and said, ‘This looks just like this bitch’s face after we shot her,’” according to documents.

Santine, who was convicted of aggravated murder, was sentenced to life in prison, as were Richard McNulty and Ben Hudach, who entered guilty pleas. All were from Hubbard.

Getsy’s legal counsel argued in court filings that an execution date should not be set, because he has an appeal pending at the federal level challenging Ohio’s lethal injection procedures.

CLEMENCY COMMENTS

Anyone wanting to comment on whether the Ohio Parole Board should recommend clemency for Jason Getsy can do so in writing:

Ohio Parole Board

770 W. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43222

E-mail: drc.publicinfo@odrc.state.oh.us

Getsy’s clemency hearing, which is not open to the public, will take place July 9 in Columbus. He’s scheduled for execution Aug. 18.

Source: Ohio Parole Board