Killer's attorneys say he's changed. Prosecutor tells board to not be fooled.
COLUMBUS: Attorneys for condemned inmate Richard Wade Cooey asked for mercy Monday, saying the state would kill a changed man if its planned execution goes forward this fall.
Cooey's attorneys, Dana Cole and Eric Allen, presented their case before the seven-member Ohio Parole Board.
Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh urged the board not to fall victim to what she called Cooey's remorseless deceit and to recommend denying clemency.
Cooey, 41, is on death row for the 1986 rape and murders of University of Akron students Wendy Offredo, 21, and Dawn McCreery, 20.
After a three-hour hearing, the board is expected to deliberate and then submit its recommendation Sept. 2 to Gov. Ted Strickland.
Cooey is scheduled to be executed Oct. 14. He has filed an appeal seeking to delay the execution, claiming his obesity would make it difficult for the state to execute him without pain.
The board can recommend the sentence be carried out or that Cooey's sentence be reduced to life without the possibility of parole. Cooey's attorneys say he is remorseful, but not hopeful that his life will be spared.
In 2003, the board denied recommending clemency. A federal judge, however, granted Cooey a stay on the eve of his scheduled execution.
Cole described Cooey as a changed man, self-educated and articulate. He said their relationship over five years has grown personal, so much so that Cooey has a friendly relationship with Cole's adult daughter.
He is ''remorseful to the point of self-loathing'' said Cole, a UA law professor. ''The Rick Cooey of Aug. 31, 1986, does not exist.
''If you kill (Cooey) on Oct. 14, you will be killing a changed man,'' Cole said.
The attorneys argued that Cooey was denied a proper defense when he went on trial before a three-judge panel in Summit County. They also said Cooey was not provided a mitigation expert who might have offered more insight into his abusive childhood, which they contend might have resulted in a sentence other than death. Cooey released a statement Monday expressing remorse for a crime that ''should never have happened.''
He also said that he knows ''what I did or did not do in relation to this crime.''
Co-defendant blamed
Cooey has repeatedly contended that co-defendant Clinton Dickens committed the murders. Prosecutors say this is a lie.
''It was a complete and utter abomination unto myself as well as the families and to you as representatives of the society,''
Cooey wrote.
Walsh told the board too much time has passed and Cooey continues to deny his full involvement in the murders, an indication of his lack of remorse. She was joined by the victims' brothers, Jon Offredo and Robert McCreery Jr.
Walsh said the random, brutal killings sent shock waves through Akron.
''Twenty-two years have passed and no one has forgotten the brutal and senseless murders of Wendy Offredo and Dawn McCreery and no one has forgotten the name of Richard Cooey,'' Walsh said.
On the night of Aug. 31, 1986, Cooey and Dickens tossed a concrete slab onto Interstate 77, striking a car driven by Offredo. Her friend, McCreery, was a passenger.
On the pretense of helping, the men picked up the UA students and took them to a remote field in Norton. The women were raped, beaten to death and robbed. Dickens, 17 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison.
Cooey has insisted that Dickens delivered the fatal blows and his crime was not stopping his friend.
Walsh scoffed at the contention of Cooey's attorneys that he is sorry for his crimes.
''We have not seen that,'' she said. ''Not in 22 years have we seen that or believed that.''
Siblings testify
Jon Offredo and Robert McCreery Jr. each detailed their recollection of growing up with their sisters and the horrific impact their deaths have had on their families.
''We will never get over this,'' McCreery said. ''The wounds have never been given the chance to close.''
Offredo said the families have waited too long for an apology.
''It is inherently clear that Richard Cooey has taken no responsibility for his actions and shows no remorse for killing Wendy and Dawn.
''Our family has never gotten an apology from Richard Cooey,'' Offredo said. ''We've gotten blatant lies and excuses. Is an apology too much to ask? How could he commit such a heinous act and not feel regret?''
Cooey was a day away from execution in 2003 when a last-minute stay spared him lethal injection. A judge ruled that Cooey was denied legal representation in the weeks leading up to the 2003 execution date. Earlier that year, an appeals court had removed his attorneys, finding that they had filed frivolous claims and charged excessive fees.
Walsh attended the 2003 clemency hearing, which contained much of the same arguments presented today.
''Wendy Offredo and Dawn McCreery have been in their graves for 22 years, and the families of these victims have waited 22 years for the sentence to be carried out,'' Walsh said. ''It is time to put an end to this case.''
Source : ohio.com
No comments:
Post a Comment