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Thread: Steven E. Cepec - Ohio

  1. #11
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Supreme Court to consider Summit, Medina counties death-penalty appeals

    The Ohio Supreme Court will hear two separate appeals from death-row inmates in cases from Summit and Medina counties during July oral arguments.

    Dawud Spaulding was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2011 Akron murders of his children’s mother and her boyfriend, as well as the attempted murder of another man. A court imposed the death penalty on Steven Cepec following his conviction for the 2010 murder of a Chatham Township man.

    Akron Double Homicide

    In the Akron case, Spaulding’s ex-girlfriend Erica Singleton reported to police on Nov. 28, 2011, that Spaulding had broken into her house and threatened her. He had been convicted of domestic violence against Singleton earlier in the year and in 2010. Singleton obtained a civil protection order against him on Dec. 1, 2011. However, on Dec. 15, Spaulding shot Patrick Griffin outside the residence where Ernest Thomas, Singleton’s boyfriend, lived. Griffin was left paralyzed by his injuries. A few hours later, in the same location, Spaulding shot and killed Singleton and Thomas.

    A jury convicted Spaulding for aggravated murder, attempted murder, violation of a protection order, and other offenses.

    Spaulding raises concerns about Griffin’s identification of him as the shooter, noting Griffin first selected no one from the police photo array he was shown. Spaulding also argues that the jury’s trip to the crime scene shouldn’t have taken place without the judge, a court reporter, and him. He also claims his attorneys were ineffective in their representation because they weren’t both present during critical points in his case.

    Medina County Murder

    Cepec occasionally borrowed money and got rides from Frank Munz. On June 3, 2010, Cepec, who had left his halfway house without authorization, visited Munz at his home. Munz’s nephew called 911 when he heard two loud thumps, the sound of choking, and someone going through rooms of the house. Police found Munz lying on the kitchen floor. He had been hit repeatedly with a hammer and choked with a lamp cord, and died from his injuries. Cepec was found nearby hiding in a bush.

    A jury found Cepec guilty of aggravated murder, murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary.

    Cepec contests statements made during the trial by his parole officer, who mentioned Cepec’s prior burglary convictions. Although the jury was instructed to disregard these statements, Cepec asserts that he deserves a new trial because of the comments. He also argues the trial court should’ve held a hearing to evaluate the competency of Munz’s nephew after the judge asked whether the witness was developmentally challenged. In addition, Cepec contends his constitutional rights were violated when police continued to question him after he asked whether he could have a lawyer before officers administered a chemical test that would check for traces of blood on his hands.

    Oral Arguments

    Stave v. Spaulding will be heard on Tuesday, July 12, and State v. Cepec will be considered on Wednesday, July 13. Four other cases will also be argued during this session. Arguments on both days will begin at 9 a.m. at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center in Columbus and will be streamed live online at sc.ohio.gov and broadcast live on The Ohio Channel.

    http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/supre...eals/264700477

  2. #12
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    STATE OF OHIO v STEVEN E. CEPEC

    In today's opinions, the Ohio Supreme Court AFFIRMED Cepec's convictions and death sentence on direct appeal.
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  3. #13
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Cepec has an execution date of March 24, 2021.

    http://www.drc.ohio.gov/execution-schedule

  4. #14
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    Convicted killer to appeal death sentence again

    By Marina Malenic
    The Medina Gazette

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday appointed an attorney to reopen an appeal of convicted murderer Steven E. Cepec’s death sentence.

    The court appointed Columbus attorney Elizabeth Arrick to represent Cepec, whose appeal of his conviction and death sentence was denied in December.

    Arrick could not be reached for comment Monday.

    Cepec, 47, became the first person to receive the death penalty from a Medina County court in 60 years when he was sentenced in April 2013. He was convicted of killing Frank Munz, a 73-year-old Chatham Township historian — using the claw end of a hammer and a lamp cord on June 3, 2010 — just six days after being released from prison for other crimes.

    In its 7-0 December decision, the court rejected seven points of appeal from Cepec’s attorneys. They challenged Cepec’s conviction of aggravated murder in the course of aggravated robbery, kidnapping and aggravated burglary, along with other charges.

    By a 6-1 vote, the court also upheld his death sentence.

    Cepec no longer is the only former Medina County resident on death row at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution. Last year, James Tench, 30, received the death penalty after being convicted of killing his 55-year-old mother, Mary Tench, and disposing her body near their shared Brunswick home.

    Cepec and Tench are among 137 men and one woman on death row in Ohio.

    Medina County Prosecutor S. Forrest Thompson said during the campaign leading to his victory last year that elder abuse and exploitation would be a primary concern of his office. He recently said he would “aggressively prosecute those who commit such crimes.”

    Thompson was unavailable Monday for comment on Cepec’s plan to appeal his sentence.

    Since January 2014, executions in Ohio have been on hold. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is scheduled to hear arguments March 7 over the constitutionality of Ohio’s three-drug lethal injection process.

    At issue is whether the sedative midazolam is powerful enough to put inmates into a deep state of unconsciousness before two subsequent drugs paralyze them and stop their hearts.

    It took Dennis McGuire 26 minutes to die under the state’s two-drug method that began with midazolam in January 2014. The same drug was involved in a problematic execution in Arizona that year.

    http://www.medina-gazette.com/Medina...-sentence.html

  5. #15
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Cepec's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Ohio
    Case Nos.: (2013-0915)
    Decision Date: December 13, 2016
    Rehearing Denied: December 30, 2016
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  6. #16
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    As seen on the latest report, the trial court ordered a new penalty phase for Cepec due to the SMI (Serious Mental Illness) law on 1/13/2023.

    https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/...Report#page107
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