Judge refuses to reopen probe of investigator in Spirko Case

U.S. District Judge James Carr decided Friday to send the case back to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, finding no basis behind defense arguments that postal inspector Paul Hartman lied while testifying in John Spirko's trial in 1984.

Spirko, 59, who maintains his innocence, is to be executed Nov. 15 for the 1982 murder of Betty Jane Mottinger, 48, the postmistress in Elgin in northwest Ohio. She was abducted and repeatedly stabbed, then wrapped in a curtain and dumped in a field. Her body was found three weeks later.

Hartman, the state's lead investigator, said during questioning by Spirko's lawyers that he had never been the subject of a complaint.

In August, a former co-worker wrote a letter to U.S. Chief Postal Inspector Leroy Heath, informing him about 15 complaints filed by employees against Hartman.

Carr denied a defense motion asking the court to reconsider Hartman's credibility, saying Hartman clearly thought he was being asked whether he had been cited in a formal agency complaint.

A defense attorney said Spirko would appeal.

Carr also denied a defense request for a new trial, saying there was no reason to believe that investigators hid evidence from the defense.

The Ohio Parole Board earlier this month recommended by a 6-3 vote that Gov. Bob Taft deny Spirko clemency, repeating its previous decision. It was the 1st time since Ohio resumed executions in 1999 that a condemned inmate has received a second clemency hearing.

(source : Associated Press)

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Spirko appeal on trial witness denied

A federal judge yesterday rejected a motion from death-row inmate John Spirko in a bid to reopen a new avenue of appeals on his conviction for the murder of a rural Van Wert County postmaster.

U.S. District Judge James Carr denied a motion from Spirko to reconsider the credibility of a retired postal inspector whose testimony was used to convict Spirko in the August, 1982, slaying of Betty Jane Mottinger.

Spirko, 59, is scheduled to die Nov. 15 for the abduction and murder of the 48-year-old woman, who was the postmaster at the tiny village of Elgin, Ohio.

She was kidnapped from the rural post office and found nearly 6 weeks later. She was stabbed more than a dozen times.

The motion was based on an Aug. 31 letter from Gregory Duerr, an inspector in Cleveland, to U.S. Chief Postal Inspector Leroy Heath, informing him that 15 complaints were filed by employees against Postal Inspector Paul Hartman, a key witness at the 1984 trial.

The letter surfaced after Judge Carr decided against Spirko in the appeal of the court's decision in 2000 that upheld Spirko's conviction and death sentence.

"We are disappointed with the decision on the motion. We continue to maintain that John Spirko is innocent of the crime," said Spirko's Washington attorney, Alvin Dunn.

The Ohio Parole Board has twice denied clemency for Spirko, most recently on Oct. 19 when the credibility of Mr. Hartman was challenged. The retired postal inspector's interviews with Spirko were key in obtaining the conviction.

Mr. Dunn said an appeal of Judge Carr's denial of the motion likely would be made to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

(source: Toledo Blade)

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Judge rejects Spirko's argument -- Inmate's execution date nears

A federal judge in Toledo has refused to revisit the case of death-row inmate John Spirko, finding no reason to further investigate complaints by former co-workers about the investigator who helped win Spirko's 1984 murder conviction.

With just over 2 weeks to go until Spirko's scheduled execution, the case returns to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a Friday ruling, U.S. District Judge James Carr rejected arguments that retired Postal Inspector Paul Hartman lied under oath during questioning by Spirko's lawyers when he said he had never been the subject of a complaint. Carr said Hartman clearly thought he was being asked whether he had been named in a formal agency complaint.

The judge said Hartman's fellow postal inspectors and employees had complained about his temperament and behavior as a supervisor in 2000. Hartman disputed the complaints, but decided to retire earlier than planned. Carr privately reviewed government records about the complaints and found nothing relating to the Spirko investigation, prosecution or conviction.

This was Carr's second Spirko ruling in 2 months. In early September, he rejected arguments that the state used fraud to thwart the inmate's earlier appeal.

Spirko's lawyers were appealing that decision when they received a letter by a former Hartman co-worker raising questions about his integrity and professionalism -- and whether Spirko was guilty of murder.

That letter prompted Spirko's lawyers to seek relief from Carr.

Lawyers for Spirko and the state subsequently interviewed Hartman's former co-worker. But he offered no specific information about improper action by Hartman in the Spirko case.

Now that Carr has ruled, the underlying case returns to the appeals court. Lawyers for Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro have denied the fraud allegations.

(source: Plain Dealer)