Six felons ruled retarded are spared execution

Monday, May 12, 2008Karen FarkasPlain Dealer Reporter
Akron- Six men are likely to die in prison, but not at the hands of an executioner.

They were removed from Ohio's death row because they are mentally retarded and judges ruled they qualified under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute retarded inmates.

The families of the victims had no recourse as the men were resentenced to life. The family of a Cincinnati boy killed in 1992 has seen both men convicted of his death ruled mentally retarded.

Deborah Thorpe's family is upset and plans to speak today in Summit County Common Pleas Court when Clifton White III is resentenced, prosecutors said. White's death sentence was vacated last month by the Ohio Supreme Court, which overturned two lower courts that ruled White, 35, of Akron, was not mentally retarded.

Thorpe and Julie Schrey, the mother of White's ex-girlfriend, were shot by White on Christmas Eve 1995. Thorpe's son was severely injured when White shot him at a fast-food restaurant as he protected the ex-girlfriend.

Five other men on death row say they are mentally retarded, including James Were, 51, who was sentenced to death for killing guard Robert Vallandingham in the 1993 Lucasville prison riot. The Ohio Supreme Court heard Were's arguments in February.

While White's case gained publicity because of the high court's ruling that the mentally retarded are not necessarily devoid of all adaptive skills, such as driving or cooking, other cases have quietly moved through common pleas courts.

Derrick Evans, 49, of Cleveland, who was sentenced to die for killing Joann Richards and Marcellus Williams in a 1987 robbery, was resentenced in 2006 to 60 years to life in prison after prosecutors did not object to his claim that he is mentally retarded.

Raymond Smith, 68, who was on death row for the 1994 killing of police informant Ron Lally, was resentenced to life in prison on April 25 by Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery, who ruled Smith was mentally retarded.

Others off death row are Darryl Gumm, 42, and Michael Bies, 36, who killed 10-year-old Aaron Raines in Cincinnati in 1992, and Kevin Yarbrough, 50, of Shelby County, convicted of killing Wilma Arnett in 1994. Gumm and Yarbrough got long prison sentences, and Bies is awaiting resentencing.

Death row inmates with cases pending locally include Paul Greer, 53, of Akron, who was convicted in 1985 of stabbing his landlord, Louis Roth, 22 times in the chest. He is awaiting a ruling in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

It is not known how many death row inmates nationwide have filed claims.

Inmates have to meet criteria set by the U.S. Supreme Court, based on the American Association of Mental Retardation and the American Psychiatric Association, to be declared mentally retarded. To be classified as retarded by the courts, the inmate must have an IQ of 70 or below and have limitations in areas including communication, social skills and functional academics. The problems also must have surfaced before they were 18 years old.

In White's case, a common pleas judge ruled he was not mentally retarded, despite testimony of expert psychologists, because he was able to drive, cook and play video games.

Richard Vickers, supervisor of the death penalty division of the Ohio public defender's office, said the Ohio Supreme Court ruling in White's case will have an effect on those who may face capital murder charges.

"Mildly mentally retarded people obviously have many strengths," he said. "We have talked to jurors about mental retardation, and a lot of time they really expect someone to have several significant physical and mental symptoms."

Vickers asked visiting Judge H.F. Inderlied Jr. to sentence White to life in prison with a chance of parole in 20 years, but prosecutors are seeking at least 58 years in prison for the murder and attempted-murder convictions.

Vickers said the mentally retarded inmates understand they may not ever see freedom.

"No crime is excusable," he said.

"They are terrible, violent crimes. But the point for White is he will not be executed."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

kfarkas@plaind.com, 216-999-5079