Judge promises ruling soon on death-penalty constitutionality in Seman case

YOUNGSTOWN

Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said she will rule soon on a motion by attorneys for Robert Seman, who seek a ruling that the death penalty is unconstitutional.

Seman faces the death penalty if convicted of the arson deaths of Corrine Gump, 10, and her grandparents, William and Judith Schmidt during a fire March 31, 2015, at their Powers Way home.

Seman, 46, of Green, had a pretrial hearing Wednesday.

The motion says under Ohio law the death penalty is unconstitutional because it eliminates an appeal to the 7th District Court of Appeals, instead going directly to the Ohio Supreme Court.

The motion says that violates Seman’s equal-protection rights because only death penalty cases skip the appeals court level.

Defense lawyer Lynn Maro said the procedure, which was approved by voters in a way to make the appeals process faster, actually makes it longer. She said the state supreme court has upheld the rule but has never given an analysis or rationale, instead simply issuing a one-sentence ruling saying the rule is constitutional.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.