COLUMBUS, Ohio- The Ohio parole board will meet Wednesday to discuss the fate of a Warren man on death row for a 1991 murder.
A clemency hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. for Roderick Davie, who is set to be executed in August.
Davie was convicted in the murders of John Ira Coleman and Tracey Jefferys inside a pet food warehouse in Warren.
A third person, John Everett, was shot three times but survived.
Davie had been an employee at the warehouse, but had been fired.
21 News reporter Janet Rogers will be in Columbus for the hearing and will have a full report Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Watkins: Killer evil and a danger
If convicted murderer Roderick Davie is one thing, he is consistent, said Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Dennis Watkins after he spoke at Davie's clemency hearing before the state parole board Wednesday.
''He's evil from the beginning to the end,'' Watkins said. ''He's a danger.''
Davie did not speak and waived presenting any testimony during the hour and a half hearing, Watkins said. Two brothers of one of his victims, John Coleman, did speak as did the mother of Tracy Jefferys, who was also killed.
Also testifying was the survivor of the June 27, 1991, attack, John Everett.
Davis is on death row for the attack at VCA Warehouse on Main Avenue S.W. in Warren. Coleman was killed by a single gunshot to the head and Jefferys beaten to death with a folding chair.
Everett was shot in the neck, arm and shoulder, but played dead and eventually escaped to later testify in the case against Davie. Davie had been fired from the company two months earlier. The victims were former co-workers.
Davie is set to be executed Aug. 10. The parole board will make their recommendation and give it to Gov. Ted Strickland July 22, who will then decide to accept or reject the recommendation.
Watkins said Davie is an ''unabashed psychopath,'' and despite coming from a good family, had behavior problems in middle school and high school and even in prison, where he has a 200-page disciplinary record and more than 50 documented incidents of trouble, including an assault on a family member who was visiting him.
In the county jail while awaiting his trial, Davie was written up 15 times for behavior incidents, Watkins said.
''He continues to be a danger to anyone around him,'' Watkins said.
Watkins said the message he sent to the parole board is that Davie does not deserve mercy.
''He does not know the meaning of the word,'' Watkins said.
Watkins credited Warren police and especially now Lt. Gary Vingle for building a strong case against Davie. He said Vingle was the officer who got Davie's confession.
Davie would be the first inmate from Trumbull County to be executed this year. Last year, Jason Getsy and Kenneth Biros were each executed for separate murders.
Getsy, 33, was convicted in 1995 of killing Ann Serafino, 66, and nearly killing her son Chuck Serafino as part of a murder-for-hire plot triggered by a dispute over a Hubbard landscaping business. He was put to death in August.
Biros, 51, was sentenced to die in 1991 for the murder of Tami Engstrom, 22, of Brookfield. Biros' life ended by an untested method of lethal injection in December, after the state botched an execution in September and was faced with lawsuits from inmates, including Biros.
Prosecutor: No clemency
WARREN - The Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office wants the Ohio Parole Board to know without question that the office is fully against granting clemency to death row inmate Roderick Davie.
That's why the office has filed pages of documents opposing leniency for the convicted killer in anticipation of Davie's July 14 hearing, when he can, if he chooses, offer any explanation why he shouldn't face the death penalty in connection to the 1991 deaths of John Coleman and Tracey Jefferys in Warren.
That, however, seems unlikely.
LuWayne Annos, Trumbull County assistant prosecutor, said the office has been informed by Davie's attorneys that he will not file a petition for clemency and not make a presentation to the parole board in two weeks. Also, Annos said, he refused the opportunity to participate in a video conference with the parole board on Thursday.
''Despite the fact that he apparently doesn't want to participate in these proceedings, we do,'' Annos said.
Davie's execution date has been set for Aug. 10.
The information released by the office on Friday supplements oral arguments scheduled for the hearing. In it, the office is asking the board to show no mercy to Davie, convicted in 1992 of attacking and killing Coleman and Jefferys on June 27, 1991, outside the VCA Warehouse on Main Avenue S.W.
Coleman died from a single gunshot to the head, and Jefferys was beaten to death with a folding chair and a coffee urn.
A third man, William John Everett, was shot in the neck, arm and shoulder, but played dead and later escaped to testify against Davie. Davie had been fired from the company two months earlier.
The prosecutor's office also notes that Davie has lost 20 appeals and claims in his effort to reverse the death sentence.
''Because Davie was shown to be guilty by such overwhelming evidence at trial, his case has withstood the test of time and appeal,'' the document states. ''Davie is a craven cold-blooded killer who has earned and deserves the death penalty.''
Defense silent during clemency hearing
A clemency hearing for Trumbull County killer Roderick Davie took place in Columbus Wednesday.
Prosecutors and victims' families all made statements at the hearing, but no one from the defense spoke. Davie was convicted of the 1991 murders of Tracey Jefferys and John Coleman, and the attempted murder of John Everett.
They were all employees of the Veterinary Companies of America, where Davie had been fired just before the killings. The board should make a decision by next week.
Governor Ted Strickland will have the final say in the matter. Davie's execution is set for August 10 barring any last minute appeals.
A clemency hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. for Roderick Davie, who is set to be executed in August.
Davie was convicted in the murders of John Ira Coleman and Tracey Jefferys inside a pet food warehouse in Warren.
A third person, John Everett, was shot three times but survived.
Davie had been an employee at the warehouse, but had been fired.
21 News reporter Janet Rogers will be in Columbus for the hearing and will have a full report Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Watkins: Killer evil and a danger
If convicted murderer Roderick Davie is one thing, he is consistent, said Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Dennis Watkins after he spoke at Davie's clemency hearing before the state parole board Wednesday.
''He's evil from the beginning to the end,'' Watkins said. ''He's a danger.''
Davie did not speak and waived presenting any testimony during the hour and a half hearing, Watkins said. Two brothers of one of his victims, John Coleman, did speak as did the mother of Tracy Jefferys, who was also killed.
Also testifying was the survivor of the June 27, 1991, attack, John Everett.
Davis is on death row for the attack at VCA Warehouse on Main Avenue S.W. in Warren. Coleman was killed by a single gunshot to the head and Jefferys beaten to death with a folding chair.
Everett was shot in the neck, arm and shoulder, but played dead and eventually escaped to later testify in the case against Davie. Davie had been fired from the company two months earlier. The victims were former co-workers.
Davie is set to be executed Aug. 10. The parole board will make their recommendation and give it to Gov. Ted Strickland July 22, who will then decide to accept or reject the recommendation.
Watkins said Davie is an ''unabashed psychopath,'' and despite coming from a good family, had behavior problems in middle school and high school and even in prison, where he has a 200-page disciplinary record and more than 50 documented incidents of trouble, including an assault on a family member who was visiting him.
In the county jail while awaiting his trial, Davie was written up 15 times for behavior incidents, Watkins said.
''He continues to be a danger to anyone around him,'' Watkins said.
Watkins said the message he sent to the parole board is that Davie does not deserve mercy.
''He does not know the meaning of the word,'' Watkins said.
Watkins credited Warren police and especially now Lt. Gary Vingle for building a strong case against Davie. He said Vingle was the officer who got Davie's confession.
Davie would be the first inmate from Trumbull County to be executed this year. Last year, Jason Getsy and Kenneth Biros were each executed for separate murders.
Getsy, 33, was convicted in 1995 of killing Ann Serafino, 66, and nearly killing her son Chuck Serafino as part of a murder-for-hire plot triggered by a dispute over a Hubbard landscaping business. He was put to death in August.
Biros, 51, was sentenced to die in 1991 for the murder of Tami Engstrom, 22, of Brookfield. Biros' life ended by an untested method of lethal injection in December, after the state botched an execution in September and was faced with lawsuits from inmates, including Biros.
Prosecutor: No clemency
WARREN - The Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office wants the Ohio Parole Board to know without question that the office is fully against granting clemency to death row inmate Roderick Davie.
That's why the office has filed pages of documents opposing leniency for the convicted killer in anticipation of Davie's July 14 hearing, when he can, if he chooses, offer any explanation why he shouldn't face the death penalty in connection to the 1991 deaths of John Coleman and Tracey Jefferys in Warren.
That, however, seems unlikely.
LuWayne Annos, Trumbull County assistant prosecutor, said the office has been informed by Davie's attorneys that he will not file a petition for clemency and not make a presentation to the parole board in two weeks. Also, Annos said, he refused the opportunity to participate in a video conference with the parole board on Thursday.
''Despite the fact that he apparently doesn't want to participate in these proceedings, we do,'' Annos said.
Davie's execution date has been set for Aug. 10.
The information released by the office on Friday supplements oral arguments scheduled for the hearing. In it, the office is asking the board to show no mercy to Davie, convicted in 1992 of attacking and killing Coleman and Jefferys on June 27, 1991, outside the VCA Warehouse on Main Avenue S.W.
Coleman died from a single gunshot to the head, and Jefferys was beaten to death with a folding chair and a coffee urn.
A third man, William John Everett, was shot in the neck, arm and shoulder, but played dead and later escaped to testify against Davie. Davie had been fired from the company two months earlier.
The prosecutor's office also notes that Davie has lost 20 appeals and claims in his effort to reverse the death sentence.
''Because Davie was shown to be guilty by such overwhelming evidence at trial, his case has withstood the test of time and appeal,'' the document states. ''Davie is a craven cold-blooded killer who has earned and deserves the death penalty.''
Defense silent during clemency hearing
A clemency hearing for Trumbull County killer Roderick Davie took place in Columbus Wednesday.
Prosecutors and victims' families all made statements at the hearing, but no one from the defense spoke. Davie was convicted of the 1991 murders of Tracey Jefferys and John Coleman, and the attempted murder of John Everett.
They were all employees of the Veterinary Companies of America, where Davie had been fired just before the killings. The board should make a decision by next week.
Governor Ted Strickland will have the final say in the matter. Davie's execution is set for August 10 barring any last minute appeals.
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