On April 30 Ohio Governor John Kasich com­mut­ed the death sen­tence of Arthur Tyler to life in prison with­out the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole. The deci­sion fol­lowed a rec­om­men­da­tion for clemen­cy from Cuyahoga County pros­e­cu­tor Tim McGinty. Following a hear­ing on the case, the Ohio Parole Board rec­om­mend­ed com­mu­ta­tion of Tyler’s sen­tence to life with parole: six of the eleven mem­bers rec­om­mend­ed imme­di­ate parole eli­gi­bil­i­ty for Tyler, and the remain­ing five favored a sen­tence of 33 years to life, which would have made Tyler parole eli­gi­ble in two years. In his com­mu­ta­tion announce­ment, Kasich said, ​“The ques­tions that con­tin­ue around this case are fun­da­men­tal and the irreg­u­lar­i­ties in the court pro­ceed­ings are trou­bling.” Tyler’s co-defen­dant, Leroy Head, con­fessed to the crime but tes­ti­fied that Tyler was the trig­ger­man, secur­ing him­self a less­er sen­tence. Head was released from prison in 2008. McGinty cit­ed Head’s ​“evolv­ing state­ments” as a ​“cause for con­cern” in ask­ing for clemen­cy for Tyler, and the Parole Board agreed, adding that a sen­tence with parole eli­gi­bil­i­ty, ​“would also make Tyler’s sen­tence more pro­por­tion­ate to the sen­tence imposed upon Head.”

This is the first clemen­cy grant­ed in 2014 and the fifth by Gov. Kasich. There have been 274 clemen­cies since the death penal­ty was reinstatedin 1976.

(R. Higgs, ​“Gov. John Kasich grants reprieve to death row inmate Arthur Tyler, com­mut­ing sen­tence to life with­out parole,” Cleveland Plain-Dealer, May 1, 2014). See Clemency and Arbitrariness.

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