John Spirko

Man who claims he's not guilty passes lie test, defense says

By Tom Beyerlein

Dayton Daily News

Death Row inmate John Spirko's attorneys on Monday called for a halt to Spirko's scheduled Nov. 15 execution after a man who implicated a house painter in the 1982 stabbing death of postmaster Betty Jane Mottinger passed a lie detector test.

CHICAGO, Oct. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- With just two weeks before John Spirko is set to be executed, the statements of a key witness pointing to another man as the murderer of Betty Jane Mottinger were corroborated by a polygraph examination pursued by The Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. The Center sought the testing by a former veteran FBI examiner as Gov. Bob Taft weighs whether to execute Spirko despite persistent questions about alternative suspects and serious doubts about the integrity of the initial investigation.

A federal judge has rejected a death row inmate's request to re-examine allegations of misconduct by an investigator who helped convict the inmate of killing a postmistress.

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.