Post by SoulTrainOz on May 31, 2006 19:08:54 GMT -5
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out the death sentence of a man who strangled and stomped a 76-year-old man during a robbery, saying the killer's chaotic childhood with abusive parents, along with other factors, outweighed the crime's brutality.
The 4-3 opinion also noted that Troy Tenace, 44, expressed remorse when he confessed to police in 1994, and that if he receives the maximum sentence, he won't be eligible for parole until age 96.
Any one factor alone would not have resulted in reversing the death sentence, but the combination of the three is enough to argue for prison over execution, the majority said.
The three dissenting justices said the brutality of the crime was inexcusable.
The justices were unanimous, however, in upholding Tenace's conviction for robbing and killing Chester Kozlowski on Jan. 28, 1994, in his Toledo home. Tenace robbed Kozlowski because the older man paid him in cash earlier for chimney repairs. The man had been gagged and strangled, and had extensive facial injuries from being stomped with heavy boots.
The ruling sends the case back to Lucas County for resentencing.
Tenace's mother and siblings had testified he was forced to watch the sexual abuse of his sister by his stepfather and was sexually abused himself by baby sitters, and that all three children were taught to steal and use drugs by age 10.
"Tenace was doomed from the start," Justice Judith Lanzinger said in the majority opinion. "Both appellant's mother and father were abusive, neglectful, and pernicious influences on their three children, who were schooled in crime from an early age."
(Source: CARRIE SPENCER GHOSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Seattlepi.com)
The 4-3 opinion also noted that Troy Tenace, 44, expressed remorse when he confessed to police in 1994, and that if he receives the maximum sentence, he won't be eligible for parole until age 96.
Any one factor alone would not have resulted in reversing the death sentence, but the combination of the three is enough to argue for prison over execution, the majority said.
The three dissenting justices said the brutality of the crime was inexcusable.
The justices were unanimous, however, in upholding Tenace's conviction for robbing and killing Chester Kozlowski on Jan. 28, 1994, in his Toledo home. Tenace robbed Kozlowski because the older man paid him in cash earlier for chimney repairs. The man had been gagged and strangled, and had extensive facial injuries from being stomped with heavy boots.
The ruling sends the case back to Lucas County for resentencing.
Tenace's mother and siblings had testified he was forced to watch the sexual abuse of his sister by his stepfather and was sexually abused himself by baby sitters, and that all three children were taught to steal and use drugs by age 10.
"Tenace was doomed from the start," Justice Judith Lanzinger said in the majority opinion. "Both appellant's mother and father were abusive, neglectful, and pernicious influences on their three children, who were schooled in crime from an early age."
(Source: CARRIE SPENCER GHOSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Seattlepi.com)