Parole board ruling favors Getsy

Killer’s fate now lies with governor

By ED RUNYAN

and MARC KOVAC

THE VINDICATOR

COLUMBUS — The state parole board has recommended clemency for death-row inmate Jason Getsy, scheduled to die next month for the 1995 murder of a Hubbard Township woman.

The board released its 5-2 decision Friday in favor of a sentence commutation to life without parole, forwarding it to Gov. Ted Strickland, who will make a final decision.

Getsy, 33, is scheduled for execution Aug. 18 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. He was the only person among four co-defendants who received the death penalty, part of the reason for the parole board’s decision.

“In imposing a death sentence, it is imperative that we have consistency and similar penalties imposed upon similarly situated co-defendants,” members wrote. “The concerns expressed by several reviewing courts remain and detract from the confidence needed to impose the gravest of penalties.”

Getsy was convicted in the aggravated murder of Ann R. Serafino and the attempted murder of her son, Charles Serafino. According to court documents, Getsy and two other men were hired to kill Charles Serafino by John Santine over a business disagreement. Charles Serafino, though shot in the face at point-blank range, survived.

Chuck Serafino, reached Friday, said he remains confident that Strickland will carry out Getsy’s death sentence and reject the parole board’s recommendation, even though his family is “devastated” by the parole board’s decision.

Serafino said Dennis Watkins, Trumbull County prosecutor, did a “perfect” job in the trial and in his arguments to the parole board earlier this month. Watkins said he expects the governor to decide whether to grant clemency within a couple of weeks.

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.

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

In an interview with parole board members last month, Getsy said: “He takes full responsibility for his role in the instant offense, and he understands that his actions placed him where he is. He emphasized further that his own stupid actions placed him in prison, and he has been living every day with the thought of taking Ann Serafino’s life, as she was an innocent woman. The applicant said he feels devastation and pain, especially for Ms. Serafino’s son and daughter.”

In making its clemency decision, the parole board noted that four defendants participated in the crime, including Santine, who drove Getsy to the home just before the murder.

“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.”

The board also noted that Getsy “cooperated completely” during the investigation and “has continuously expressed remorse for the victims and their family.”

Watkins said the decision sets a dangerous precedent in that it opens the door for many other defendants to argue for a lesser penalty based on unequal punishment among co-defendants.

U.S. law is clear in requiring every defendant to be treated individually at sentencing, Watkins said in a letter he sent to Strickland on Friday.

“In short, each death-penalty case is different, and with different evidence, a different judge, jury results often will differ,” Watkins wrote.

“To suggest that, for example, a 30-year-old slow learner with no criminal record should automatically receive equal punishment with a 50-year-old ex-con who had a prior murder conviction is simply ridiculous,” Watkins said.

In the case of Getsy, he killed a 14-year-old friend when he was 17 during a game of Russian Roulette and spent a year on juvenile probation, and Santine had no criminal record before the Serafino murder.