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Thread: James Dean Worley - Ohio Death Row

  1. #41
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Death Sentence Upheld for Man Who Suffocated Victim

    By Dan Trevas
    Ohio Court News

    The Ohio Supreme Court today affirmed the death penalty imposed on James Worley for the 2016 murder of a 20-year-old girl he bound and suffocated.

    In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court rejected Worley’s appeal of the murder conviction and sentence for the death of Sierah Joughin, including his contention that jury selection in Fulton County and the trial itself was tainted by revelations of a similar attack of a woman by him in 1990.

    Writing for the Court, Justice Michael P. Donnelly stated that Worley’s murder of Joughin was not a crime of impulse. He wrote that Worley had spent significant time, including on the day of the offense, watching pornographic videos showing young women being bound and strangled, and that Worley was resolved to murder Joughin to escape detection for kidnapping her.

    Woman Goes Missing While Biking Home

    Joughin lived on County Road 6 in rural Fulton County. Her boyfriend, Joshuah Kolanski, lived nearby on County Road 12. Joughin rode her bicycle to Kolanski’s home. Around 6:45 p.m., she left to ride back home. Kolanski, on his motorcycle traveling to visit a friend, followed her part of the way. He recorded two videos of Joughin as she rode home.

    About 45 minutes later, a motorist noticed a bicycle lying on the side of the road and saw a man who was two or three rows deep in a cornfield bent over at the waist.

    When Joughin did not return home, Kolanski and Joughin’s mother started to search for her and called the police. Shortly after 7 p.m. a farmer noticed a motorcycle helmet on the side of County Road 6 and picked it up. After hearing about police activity on the road, he turned the helmet over to law enforcement. The helmet had reddish-brown stains that testing later indicated was blood.

    Later that evening a Fulton County Sheriff’s Office deputy located Joughin’s bike in the cornfield and found motorcycle tire tracks and a box of fuses in the area. A further search of the area discovered other items, including a pair of men’s sunglasses and an orange-handled screwdriver.

    Motorcyclist Investigated

    Two days later, law enforcement officers went to Worley’s property on County Road 6 to interview him. He told officers that he was riding his motorcycle around 6 p.m. on the day Joughin went missing, and that his motorcycle stalled out. He noticed two bicycles lying on the ground near a cornfield and pulled his motorcycle into the cornfield and out of view from the road because he was going to ride one of the bikes home. He then decided against it and rode his motorcycle home. He said he did not see anyone on his trip. He told officers that when his motorcycle broke down, he lost his helmet, fuses, a screwdriver, and sunglasses.

    Worley initially let investigators walk around his property, but did not allow a thorough search. He was told that security video from the Evergreen High School complex on County Road 6 showed a motorcycle traveling on the road between his property and where Joughin went missing. He initially insisted that he was not on County Road 6 at that time, but later admitted he had not told officers the truth.

    A search warrant for his property revealed Worley had a crate in his barn that concealed adult diapers, bondage clothing and restraints, latex gloves, clear plastic bags containing women’s lingerie, rope, and a sex toy. They also found his motorcycle, which had weeds stuck to it, handcuff keys, two sets of handcuffs, a zip tie, and a bottle of bleach. Police located women’s pink underwear with stains that tested positive for blood.

    Searcher Discovered Body

    One of the volunteers searching for Joughin noticed a disturbed area of the cornfield. It appeared that something had been dragged for about 20 to 25 yards. Investigators found Joughin’s body covered in dirt with her wrists handcuffed behind her back. She was dressed in a lace bra, handcuffs, a rope, and an adult diaper. A rubber cone-shaped dog toy, which was secured with a shoelace tied at the back of her head, had been used to gag her.

    An autopsy revealed a head wound caused significant bleeding and could have been caused by being struck with a motorcycled helmet. The medical examiner found the dog toy filled Joughin’s oral cavity and that one of her teeth was broken. The examiner indicated the toy was stuffed in Joughin’s mouth with enough force that it could have broken her tooth and that she suffocated to death about 10 minutes after the toy was inserted.

    Motorcyclist Charged With Murder

    Worley was indicted by a grand jury on 19 felony counts, including two counts of aggravated murder and kidnapping. The indictment included the charge of purposely causing Joughin’s death while “committing or attempting to commit” kidnapping. Each aggravated murder count included two death-penalty specifications. One specification alleged that Worley committed the murder in the course of a kidnapping. The other alleged that the purpose of the murder was to escape “detection, apprehension, trial, or punishment” for the kidnapping.

    During the trial, the Fulton County prosecutor asked the trial court to dismiss two charges, and Worley was convicted on all other counts. The prosecutor elected to seek the death penalty based on an aggravated murder charge with the specification that Worley was attempting to escape detection. The jury recommended the death sentence, and the trial court imposed it. Worley also received a sentence of 25 years and 11 months in prison for the other crimes.

    A death penalty conviction triggers an automatic appeal to the Supreme Court of Ohio.

    Report of Previous Abduction Submitted at Trial

    At Worley’s trial, Robin Gardner testified about her encounter with Worley in July 1990. Gardner was 26 years old at the time and was riding her bike in a rural area of Lucas County. As she was nearing her house, she was struck from behind by a pickup truck.

    The driver, later identified as Worley, asked her if she was OK and then struck her on the back of her head with a hammer and put her in a stranglehold. He held a screwdriver to her throat and threatened to kill her if she did not get into his truck. Worley forced Gardner into the truck, then attempted to handcuff her hands behind her back, but he was only able to cuff one wrist. A motorcyclist spotted the struggle and stopped to help Gardner. She was able to get out, and the motorcyclist drove her home. Worley was convicted of abduction.

    In his appeal, Worley argued that his right to a fair trial had been violated because prospective jury members were exposed to information harmful to him and helpful to the government.

    The trial court had drawn a pool of 400 prospective jurors and granted Worley’s request to have each prospective juror questioned on the topics of pretrial publicity and the death penalty. The court dismissed 156 prospective jurors during pretrial hearings, and the remaining prospects were interviewed over the course of two days. Several individuals were dismissed because they knew Worley or Joughin or members of their families. At one point, a prospective juror stated she could not be impartial “based on that he did this 30 years ago.” The judge interrupted her and told the prospective jurors to answer specific questions and avoid making additional comments.

    Worley’s attorney asked the judge to the dismiss the entire panel of more than 200 and start again with a new panel of jurors. The attorney argued the reference to Worley’s prior conviction tainted the entire panel. The prosecution objected, stating that Worley’s attorney agreed Gardner would be testifying about the incident. The judge warned prospective jurors that only information produced during the trial could be considered and to disregard statements made during jury selection.

    The next day, one of the prospects wanted to be excused because he had made up his mind. He lived about three miles from Worley, who the potential juror said “attended our church after his imprisonment 25 years ago.” The juror was dismissed, and Worley’s attorney again asked for the entire jury selection process to be restarted.

    Justice Donnelly wrote that the Court will not presume that jury selection is tainted when a prospective juror makes improper comments during voir dire. The opinion noted that the trial court gave instructions to the jurors to rely solely on the evidence submitted at trial, and those selected asserted they could be impartial. The Court noted none of the perspective jurors who referred to Worley’s past conviction were selected. The Court denied Worley’s claim that the trial court abused its discretion by denying the request for a new jury panel.

    Testimony of Prior Charge Unfair, Accused Asserted

    Worley also argued the introduction of Gardner’s testimony was inadmissible “other acts” evidence that prejudiced the jury.

    The Court explained that evidence of other acts can be admitted for a limited purpose, including proof of “motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.” The prosecutor argued it was presenting Gardner’s testimony to prove “identity,” because Worley was disputing that he was the perpetrator. The Court ruled that “his identity was squarely at issue.”

    The opinion noted that Gardner’s testimony demonstrated Worley’s “modus operandi,” which is described as evidence of “signature, fingerprint-like characteristics unique enough” to show crimes were committed by the same person. In both cases, Worley assaulted a young woman riding a bike on a rural road surrounded by cornfields, hitting them on the head, causing skull fractures. In both crimes, he used a distinctive type of handcuff on the victim that could not be removed with keys available to law enforcement.

    The Court stated the “most powerful evidence of modus operandi” was the use of a screwdriver during the abduction. While Worley argued his screwdriver was not found near Joughin’s abduction site and could not be admitted as evidence, the Court said its location did not bar it from being admitted, but that it was up to the jury to decide its relevance based on the tool’s location.

    “The similarities between Worley’s abduction of Gardner and the evidence of his kidnapping and assault of Joughin are striking,” the opinion stated. “Indeed, the trial court correctly determined that Gardner’s testimony was offered for a proper purpose — i.e., to prove the identity of Joughin’s killer,” the opinion stated.

    The Supreme Court also rejected Worley’s nine other legal claims contesting his conviction and sentence.

    The Court additionally conducted an independent analysis of the aggravating circumstances that led to the convictions and mitigating factors to determine if the death penalty was properly imposed. The Court concluded the death penalty was appropriate.

    2018-0757. State v. Worley, Slip Opinion No. 2021-Ohio-2207.

    View oral argument video of this case.

    http://www.courtnewsohio.gov/cases/2...701/180757.asp
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  2. #42
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    The Ohio Supreme Court has set an administrative execution date for Worley on May 20, 2025, however the execution will not be carried out due to Worley still being in the appellate process

    Execution date set for Worley in Joughin murder

    TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - The execution date for a Fulton County man found guilty of killing Sierah Joughin has been set.

    The Ohio Supreme Court has set the execution date for James Worley on May 20, 2025. Worley was convicted of kidnapping and killing Joughin in 2016. A judge sentenced him to death in 2018.

    The Supreme Court ruled the evidence presented against Worley was sufficient for the conviction. It also disagreed with Worley that the jury pool was tainted and that a change of venue was necessary. It rejected his claim that he received ineffective counsel from his lawyers, as well.

    https://www.13abc.com/2021/07/01/exe...oughin-murder/
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  3. #43
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    Sierah Joughin's killer seeks a stay of execution

    Author: WTOL Newsroom

    WAUSEON, Ohio — Convicted killer James Worley wants to avoid his execution date of May 20, 2025. Worley, the Fulton County man sentenced for the July 2016 death of Sierah Joughin, filed a motion Thursday for a stay of execution.

    In the filing, Worley's attorneys assert that he is "entitled to a stay of execution until he has exhausted 'one round of postconviction relief, and one motion for delayed reconsideration.'” A stay is sought by his attorneys to "ensure that the issues raised in Worley's post-conviction petition are fully resolved."

    On July 1, the Ohio State Supreme Court announced it upheld the death sentence for Worley, who was found guilty of abducting Joughin while she was riding her bike in the Delta area and then killing her. Her body was found in a cornfield near Worley's property a few days later. Joughin's DNA was found on Worley's motorcycle helmet and inside his barn.

    A jury found Worley guilty on all 17 counts against him, including murder.

    The jury returned a verdict recommending death on April 4, 2017. The Fulton County Court of Common Pleas sentenced Worley to death on April 18, 2018. On July 1, 2021, the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentence on direct appeal and set an execution date of May 20, 2025.

    Out of Sierah's tragic death, Sierah's Law was passed in Ohio which created a database for violent offenders.

    Primarily law enforcement uses the database, but everyday residents could also learn the residence of felons convicted of violent crimes at their local county sheriff's office.

    The group also organized Sierah Strong, which makes available self-defense classes to young girls and boys. Sierah Strong is still growing in the community with a new school curriculum for self-defense and self-awareness launching in the fall.

    https://www.wtol.com/amp/article/new...2-b7f9abf94351
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  4. #44
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    Worley’s application for reopening appeal denied by state Supreme Court

    By WTVG Staff

    COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVG) - The Ohio Supreme Court has denied an application to reopen an appeal for convicted murderer James Worley.

    Worley’s public defender filed the application in October, “based upon the ineffective assistance of counsel during his direct appeal.” He also requested the court “grant him an evidentiary hearing,” which was denied.

    Worley was convicted of kidnapping and killing Sierah Joughin in 2016. She disappeared after riding her bike in July of that year. She was abducted and found in a cornfield a few days later.

    He was found guilty on all 17 charges including abduction, felonious assault, murder, aggravated murder, possessing criminal tools, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

    A judge sentenced him to death two years later, and the Ohio Supreme Court set his execution date for May 20, 2025.

    https://www.13abc.com/2021/12/14/wor...supreme-court/
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  5. #45
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    Distributed for conference January 7, 2022.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/21-6435.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  6. #46
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    Petition for certiorari denied.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Ohio
    Case Numbers: (2018-0757)
    Decision Date: July 1, 2021

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/21-6435.html

  7. #47
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    James Worley and the disappearance of Claudia "Sissy" Tinsley

    By Melissa Andrews
    WTOL 11 News

    In 2016, most northwest Ohioans remember that James Worley abducted 20-year-old Sierah Joughin as she rode her bike along a country road in Fulton County and killed her in his barn near Delta.

    Now on death row, awaiting a 2025 execution date, Worley began reaching out earlier this year, sending letters to WTOL 11, claiming he was framed.

    But in those letters we uncovered information that may be able to answer the question that many in the community have been asking since Worley was sentenced to death in 2018 -- Did he have other victims?

    In September 1996, James Worley was 37, a convicted kidnapper back on the streets after serving just three years for abducting Robin Gardner in 1990. Worley had used his vehicle to knock Gardner from her bike on Obee Road in Whitehouse, then restrained her. She managed to flag down a motorcyclist to get away.

    Also in 1996, Claudia "Sissy" Tinsley was 24, a mother of three and a sex worker in north Toledo.

    "Sissy, she was my big sister," Chris Tinsley said. "I was her little brother. I mean, we always had a close relationship."

    He said the family was unaware Claudia was working as a prostitute, but they did know she lived a dangerous life, using drugs and dancing in strip clubs in Detroit, he said.

    "My mom was saying, 'The things she's doing is getting worse," he said. "It's gonna catch up to her."

    A known connection

    Worley and Claudia would cross paths on the night of Sept. 8, 1996. She would never be seen again.

    "He admitted being with her," said Toledo Police Detective William Goodlet, who works in the cold case unit.

    "He said he had picked her up somewhere around the Summit and Cherry area after a festival. She got in the car, they made several stops, then drove around for a little while," Goodlet said.

    Worley detailed their meeting in a 105-page document he sent WTOL 11 in April. He claims Tinsley's case is what prompted police to begin harassing him, leading up to what he calls a "frame job" for Joughin's murder.

    When WTOL 11 met with Worley on death row at Chillicothe Correctional Institution, he wanted to talk about his manifesto. We wanted to talk about Claudia Tinsley.

    Worley said that he met up with Tinsley after leaving the German American Festival. Then we asked about going to her mother's home -- the place she was last seen alive.

    He described driving around with Tinsley, about stopping for her to talk to friends, and about eventually stopping at her mother's home.

    "She said, 'Well, come on in,' and so I went in with her, and her mom's there and there were some kids there and maybe a couple other adults and we were there for maybe no more than 10 minutes or so and we left. It was at that point in time as you read, that she, the mother, wrote down my license plate number. And that's how I got involved in this whole thing."

    Worley knows Tinsley's mother wrote down his license plate because the woman gave it to police, who then questioned him about Tinsley's disappearance.

    For police, the fact that Tinsley felt compelled to tell her mother to write down the plate number is meaningful.

    "It sounds like it wasn't typical at all, that she did have some sort of suspicion. Her mother did ask her, you know, 'Don't go with this guy.' Maybe she gave it to her mom, maybe just to calm her mind. They (previous investigators) were able to talk to a witness who saw Worley and Claudia together," Goodlet said.

    For Tinsley's family, it is heartbreaking to know that moment was the last time they would see her.

    "I don't know if my sister had told her that she had a bad feeling or my mom had a bad feeling but she pretty much begged her not to get in his car, not to go," said Chris Tinsley. "She just watched her get in the car and drive off. And that's the last thing she had in her mind, was her leaving and she had a feeling she was just never gonna see her again."

    A suspect and a search warrant

    Worley said in our prison interview that the Sept. 8 incident was the first and only time he ever saw Claudia Tinsley. He claimed the two had a consensual sexual encounter and then he dropped her off, though he does not remember where.

    Toledo Police said Worley was driving a 1995 Chevy Beretta on Sept. 8 with same license plate number Tinsley asked her mother to write down.

    "Investigators followed up with that plate, found out it came back to a leasing company, and that leasing company gave them the person it was rented to, and that was James Worley," said Goodlet. "He is the last person we know of that's seen her."

    Since his 2018 conviction for Joughin's murder, questions have lingered about whether Worley could be responsible for other attacks on women in the years between his release from prison and Joughin's death in 2016.

    In our interview, he denied having any violent encounters with women in the intervening years and he denied having anything to do with Tinsley's disappearance.

    Goodlet said Worley's strange behavior with Tinsley is what makes him stand out so prominently as a person of interest in her case file.

    "We were able to verify the fact that he did drive around with her, which would be a little unusual," he said. "If you're simply gonna engage a prostitute, he was with her roughly 40 minutes, making several trips. Seems a little unusual to me that if you're simply out for sex that you're going to drive around with this person, making different stops throughout the north end. It's just not common. It wouldn't be, it wouldn't be regular. It seemed he was interested in more than just a sexual encounter."

    Worley was questioned and authorities tested the car he had been driving, but there was no sign of Claudia.

    The case dried up until 2000, when Worley was again brought in for questioning.

    "I never thought about her until detectives were at my door four years later," Worley said.

    This time police had a surprise for him. "They informed him they were going to execute a search warrant at his house," Goodlet said.

    Detectives scoured Worley's property in Fulton County for Tinsley. It's the same place he would kill Sierah Joughin 16 years later.

    "They never explored the possibility that he had taken her out there, so I think they thought we probably should consider that and let's do that," Goodlet said.

    Authorities found nothing connecting Worley to Tinsley during that 2000 search. They did find some marijuana plants he was growing and Worley served another two years in prison for that.

    A fresh start denied

    Since then, 22 more years have come and gone and there has never been enough evidence to charge Worley for Tinsley's disappearance. Authorities have no body or witnesses.

    Successfully prosecuting Tinsley's killer will require a break in the case.

    "It takes somebody that this person has talked to and told, 'Hey this is what I've done' and we don't have that," Goodlet said.

    Tinsley's mother died of cancer in 2018 without finding her daughter.

    "I think she probably knew in her mind she was never gonna come home and we were never gonna find her," Chris Tinsley said.

    Claudia Tinsley would have turned 50 on May 22, 2022.

    Her brother believes if she would have returned home after leaving with Worley that night in 1996, she could have had a fresh start from her dangerous life.

    "I think maybe if they would have found her alive or something, it would be a turning point. Maybe it would have scared her straight, but she never got that chance," he said.

    https://www.wtol.com/article/news/in...1-ce46b4ad289a
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

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