A man convicted of killing his girlfriend in 1992 will walk free if Athens County prosecutors can't convince the state parole board to keep him behind bars.
Richard Davis, 68, of McArthur, currently resides in the Corrections Medical Center in Columbus. He has spent about 17 years in prison since he was convicted in April 1992. The board granted his parole and set his release for Oct. 26, according to the board's Web site.
Prosecutors have requested a full hearing to oppose the release, said County Prosecutor C. David Warren. Prosecutors oppose Davis' parole because his crime was one of the county's worst domestic disputes, Warren added.
He was convicted in the early 90s of the brutal shotgun slaying of his girlfriend ... shot her in the back
so we don't think he should be out and about Warren said.
Warren did not work for the prosecutor's office in 1992. Robert Toy, who prosecuted the case, could not be reached for comment.
A jury convicted Davis of shooting his ex-girlfriend twice during an argument in which he reportedly dragged her to his van, retrieved his shotgun and killed her.
Only about a quarter of prisoners who request parole are freed. In 2008, the board released about 21 percent of the 4,608 inmates who applied for parole, according to parole board records for that year.
They also granted parole requests for about a quarter of the 768 prisoners who applied in April, May and June, according to parole board records for those months, the only 2009 reports published.
About 38 percent of people who are released on parole in Ohio are re-arrested, a spokesperson for the parole board said. Nationally, around 67 percent of prisoners paroled in 1994 were re-arrested within three years, according to the United States Department of Justice's Web site.
When reviewing an applicant for release, the board might consider a prisoner's health, because prisoners who can't walk are not as dangerous to society as someone in perfect health, said Cynthia Mausser, chairwoman of the Ohio Parole Board.
The board also considers the inmate's behavior while in prison, his or her criminal record, the offense and input from prosecutors and victims, she said.
Davis's attorney, Jay Wamsley, said his client should be released.
He's in a medical facility and he's pretty old
so I would not think he would much of a threat to society
so I'd really hope that he'd be released
said Jay Wamsley, who represented Davis during his trial.
Warren disagrees, saying that Davis' health problems don't change the nature of his crime and that the victim is still dead.
(Davis) took a life
and it's always my policy that
when you take a life
you pay with yours
he said.
