Ohio man who killed 3 women, put them in bags gets death sentence

CLEVELAND (AP) — A convicted sex offender was sentenced to death today for killing three women whose bodies were found wrapped in garbage bags in a case that raised fears that yet another serial killer was hunting for victims in the Cleveland area.

Judge Nancy McDonnell of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court accepted a jury's recommendation that 38-year-old Michael Madison receive the death penalty. She could have instead chosen to sentence Madison to life in prison without parole.

The same jury convicted Madison earlier this month of multiple counts of aggravated murder and kidnapping.

Any execution is likely years away because of lengthy appeals. In addition, Ohio currently lacks supplies of lethal drugs, meaning it's unclear whether the state can even begin a new round of executions, currently scheduled to start in January and stretching into 2019.

The bodies of 38-year-old Angela Deskins, 28-year-old Shetisha Sheeley and 18-year-old Shirellda Terry were found in July 2013 near the East Cleveland apartment building where Madison lived. Madison told police he strangled two of the women but couldn't remember killing the third.