Lawson could still get death penalty
By DAVID E. MALLOY and COURTNEY HESSLER
The Huntington Herald-Dispatch
IRONTON — Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Andy Ballard on Monday overruled a defense motion to take the death penalty off the table as lawyers reviewed about 15 pre-trial motions in the capital murder case against Arron L. Lawson.
Lawson, 23, accused in the October 2017 killing of four Pedro residents, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder, rape, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, felonious assault, attempted murder, theft of a motor vehicle and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. The charges carry a possible death penalty by lethal injection.
Kirk A. McVay, the assistant Ohio public defender who is representing Lawson, said in a motion that Ohio’s death penalty is unconstitutional and violates international law.
“There is no meaningful manner to distinguish capital defendants who deserve the death penalty from those who do not,” according to McVay.
“We’ll be proceeding with the death penalty,” Prosecuting Attorney Brigham Anderson said Monday.
He said the death penalty “is what justice requires. There were four victims. This was a devastating event for Lawrence County.”
Lawson has been accused of killing Donald McGuire, 50; his wife, Tammie L. McGuire, 43; her daughter, Stacey Jackson Holston, 24; and Holston’s son Devin Holston, 8, as well as stabbing Todd Holston, who survived and was treated for his injuries. Lawson is Tammie McGuire’s nephew.
The two sides agreed on individual voir dire of prospective jurors. The individual questioning of potential jurors could take up to two weeks, Anderson said. The trial is scheduled to start Aug. 1. Jury selection and the trial could take a month, he said.
Defense attorneys did ask for the preservation of evidence so that they can do their own independent DNA testing. The judge sided with prosecutors, who said the request was premature until the defense has a specific item and reason they would like to be tested.
The defense also asked that the first phase of the trial, where a jury will determine if Lawson is guilty, not be referred to as the “guilt” phase. The judge sided with the defense and said the phase will now be referred to as the “trial phase.”
Defense attorneys also asked a questionnaire be sent to potential jurors throughout the county, asking what they know about the case. The judge ruled it would be OK with no objection from prosecutors. At the last hearing, sides said they expected questionnaires to be mailed out by May.
It was the second pre-trial hearing in the case. Ballard set another pre-trial hearing for 10 a.m. Friday, April 20.
Lawson is being represented by McVay and Gene Meadows, a Portsmouth lawyer. Anderson is lead prosecutor in the case. His office is being assisted by Angie Canepa and Chris Kinsler, two assistant Ohio attorneys general.
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