Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich has granted clemency to a condemned inmate scheduled to die this month after being convicted of killing a Cleveland produce vendor.

Kasich’s decision follows Tuesday’s recommendation by the Ohio Parole Board in favor of mercy for Arthur Tyler, whose attorneys argue he is innocent in the 1983 shooting of Sander Leach.

Kasich reduced Tyler’s sentence to life without the possibility of parole, rejecting requests that Tyler be made eligible for parole for possible release.

Tyler’s lawyers say his co-defendant took responsibility for the shooting several times. Cuyahoga County prosecutors dispute Tyler’s innocence but also pushed for clemency, saying the case doesn’t meet current standards for capital punishment.

The 54-year-old Tyler was scheduled to die May 28.


(Source: WOSU - The Associated Press)

The board cited several statements by the co-defendant of death row inmate Arthur Tyler taking responsibility for the 1983 shooting, as well as the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s position that the killing would not be prosecuted as a death penalty case today.
The board rejected the prosecutor’s request to change the sentence to life without parole. A minority of the board said his sentence should be commuted to 33 years, making him eligible for parole in two years.


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