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Ohio Governor Commutes Kevin Keith's Death Sentence!

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU

Great news! Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has commuted Kevin Keith's death sentence to life without the possibility of parole!

Gov. Strickland issued this statement, which reads in part:

[M]any legitimate questions have been raised regarding the evidence in support of the conviction and the investigation which led to it. In particular, Mr. Keith's conviction relied upon the linking of certain eyewitness testimony with certain forensic evidence about which important questions have been raised. I also find the absence of a full investigation of other credible suspects troubling.

"Clearly, the careful exercise of a governor's executive clemency authority is appropriate in a case like this one, given the real and unanswered questions surrounding the murders for which Mr. Keith was convicted. Mr. Keith still has appellate legal proceedings pending which, in theory, could ultimately result in his conviction being overturned altogether. But the pending legal proceedings may never result in a full reexamination of his case, including an investigation of alternate suspects, by law enforcement authorities and/or the courts. That would be unfortunate--this case is clearly one in which a full, fair analysis of all of the unanswered questions should be considered by a court. Under these circumstances, I cannot allow Mr. Keith to be executed. I have decided, at this time, to commute Mr. Keith's sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Should further evidence justify my doing so, I am prepared to review this matter again for possible further action."

Thank you to all of you who signed the petition and sent letters to Gov. Strickland. We'll have more soon!

Full post as published by Blog of Rights on September 02, 2010 (boomark / email).