Judge Sweeney rules against unconstitutionality of death penalty in Seman case

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Maureen Sweeney has ruled against a motion by Robert Seman to declare the death penalty unconstitutional.

In a judgment entry filed today in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Judge Sweeney said his attorneys failed “to provide any meaningful argument as to how the current appellate process is cruel and unusual.”

Lawyers for Seman, 46, of Green, who could face the death penalty if convicted of the murders of Corinne Gump, 10, and her grandparents, William and Judith Schmidt, in a March 31, 2015, arson at their Powers Way home, asked Judge Sweeney to declare the death penalty unconstitutional, saying that the current appellate process approved by voters violates Seman’s rights because it skips the 7th District Court of Appeals and instead goes straight to the Supreme Court.

Seman’s trial is set for September.

For the complete story, read Saturday's Vindicator and Vindy.com