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Baby raping Obama voters - In mercy plea, condemned Ohio man says he tried to rape 6-month-old baby but didn't intend to kill her
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Too_Many_Tools
Apr 8, 2013, 6:04:28 PM4/8/13
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As we all know, Ohio is a CONFIRMED stauch supporter of Obama.
COLUMBUS, Ohio � Condemned killer Steven Smith�s argument for
mercy isn�t an easy one. Smith acknowledges he intended to rape
his girlfriend�s 6-month-old daughter but says he never intended
to kill the baby.
The girl, Autumn Carter, died because Smith was too drunk to
realize his assault was killing her, Smith�s attorneys argued in
court filings with the Ohio Parole Board, which heard the case
Tuesday. And Ohio law is clear, they say: A death sentence
requires an intent to kill the victim.
�The evidence suggests that Autumn�s death was a horrible
accident,� Smith�s attorneys, Joseph Wilhelm and Tyson Fleming,
said in a written argument prepared for the board.
They continued: �Despite the shocking nature of this crime,
Steve�s death sentence should be commuted because genuine doubts
exist whether he even committed a capital offense.�
Smith, 46, was never charged with rape, meaning the jury�s only
choice was to convict or acquit him of aggravated murder, his
attorneys say.
However, rape was included in the indictment against Smith as
one of the factors making him eligible for the death penalty.
Under Ohio law, an aggravated murder committed in the course of
another crime � such as burglary, robbery, arson or the killing
of a police officer or child � is an element that can make
someone eligible for capital punishment.
The Richland County prosecutor said Smith continues to hide
behind alcohol as an excuse and calls Smith�s actions �the
purposeful murder of a helpless baby girl.�
Prosecutor James Mayer told the board in his written statement
that the girl�s injuries were consistent with a homicide that
contradicts Smith�s claim he didn�t intend to kill her.
�The horrific attack upon Autumn Carter showed much more than
Smith�s stated purpose,� Mayer said.
Mayer said Monday he didn�t know why Smith wasn�t charged with
rape, but he said it wasn�t part of a trial strategy.
The attack happened early in the morning of Sept. 29, 1998, in
the Mansfield apartment of the girl�s mother, Kaysha Frye, whom
Smith had been dating about six months.
Frye was awakened after 3 a.m. by a naked Smith, who placed
Autumn beside her in bed, according to records prepared for the
parole board hearing. Frye realized the girl wasn�t breathing,
told Smith he�d killed her and then ran to a neighbor�s house
for help.
Smith, known to consume as many as 12 beers a day, had had
several beers the previous evening and had a blood-alcohol
content of 0.123, well above the legal limit for drivers, when
he was tested almost eight hours later, at 11 a.m., records show.
Smith had unsuccessfully tried to have sex with his girlfriend
the evening before the attack, according to records. The
prosecutor argued that Smith�s assault of the girl was revenge
for Smith�s failure to perform with Frye.
Smith�s attorneys dispute this, saying the girlfriend was not
upset with Smith.
Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Smith�s attack
lasted as long as 30 minutes, during which time Smith beat the
girl to death.
Expert witnesses for Smith conclude he may have accidentally
suffocated the girl within three to five minutes while he lay on
top of her, according to Smith�s clemency petition.
Smith�s attorneys have an uphill battle in their argument
because of the �moral repugnancy� surrounding the claim of
partial innocence, said Doug Berman, an Ohio State University
law professor and death penalty expert.
�But if the lawyers for this defendant can legitimately assert
that the evidence doesn�t show or support that this was an
intentional killing, not only is it appropriate to bring this up
at clemency, I think they�re obliged, representing their client
appropriately, to stress this point,� Berman said.
If executed, Smith would become the 51st inmate put to death in
Ohio since the state resumed executions in 1999. The state has
enough of its lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, to execute
Smith and two other inmates before the supply expires. Eight
more inmates are scheduled to die from November through mid-2015.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-mercy-plea-condemned-
ohio-man-says-he-tried-to-rape-baby-but-didnt-intend-to-kill-
her/2013/04/02/0eac4998-9bf2-11e2-9219-
51eb8387e8f1_singlePage.html?tid=obinsite
COLUMBUS, Ohio � Condemned killer Steven Smith�s argument for
mercy isn�t an easy one. Smith acknowledges he intended to rape
his girlfriend�s 6-month-old daughter but says he never intended
to kill the baby.
The girl, Autumn Carter, died because Smith was too drunk to
realize his assault was killing her, Smith�s attorneys argued in
court filings with the Ohio Parole Board, which heard the case
Tuesday. And Ohio law is clear, they say: A death sentence
requires an intent to kill the victim.
�The evidence suggests that Autumn�s death was a horrible
accident,� Smith�s attorneys, Joseph Wilhelm and Tyson Fleming,
said in a written argument prepared for the board.
They continued: �Despite the shocking nature of this crime,
Steve�s death sentence should be commuted because genuine doubts
exist whether he even committed a capital offense.�
Smith, 46, was never charged with rape, meaning the jury�s only
choice was to convict or acquit him of aggravated murder, his
attorneys say.
However, rape was included in the indictment against Smith as
one of the factors making him eligible for the death penalty.
Under Ohio law, an aggravated murder committed in the course of
another crime � such as burglary, robbery, arson or the killing
of a police officer or child � is an element that can make
someone eligible for capital punishment.
The Richland County prosecutor said Smith continues to hide
behind alcohol as an excuse and calls Smith�s actions �the
purposeful murder of a helpless baby girl.�
Prosecutor James Mayer told the board in his written statement
that the girl�s injuries were consistent with a homicide that
contradicts Smith�s claim he didn�t intend to kill her.
�The horrific attack upon Autumn Carter showed much more than
Smith�s stated purpose,� Mayer said.
Mayer said Monday he didn�t know why Smith wasn�t charged with
rape, but he said it wasn�t part of a trial strategy.
The attack happened early in the morning of Sept. 29, 1998, in
the Mansfield apartment of the girl�s mother, Kaysha Frye, whom
Smith had been dating about six months.
Frye was awakened after 3 a.m. by a naked Smith, who placed
Autumn beside her in bed, according to records prepared for the
parole board hearing. Frye realized the girl wasn�t breathing,
told Smith he�d killed her and then ran to a neighbor�s house
for help.
Smith, known to consume as many as 12 beers a day, had had
several beers the previous evening and had a blood-alcohol
content of 0.123, well above the legal limit for drivers, when
he was tested almost eight hours later, at 11 a.m., records show.
Smith had unsuccessfully tried to have sex with his girlfriend
the evening before the attack, according to records. The
prosecutor argued that Smith�s assault of the girl was revenge
for Smith�s failure to perform with Frye.
Smith�s attorneys dispute this, saying the girlfriend was not
upset with Smith.
Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Smith�s attack
lasted as long as 30 minutes, during which time Smith beat the
girl to death.
Expert witnesses for Smith conclude he may have accidentally
suffocated the girl within three to five minutes while he lay on
top of her, according to Smith�s clemency petition.
Smith�s attorneys have an uphill battle in their argument
because of the �moral repugnancy� surrounding the claim of
partial innocence, said Doug Berman, an Ohio State University
law professor and death penalty expert.
�But if the lawyers for this defendant can legitimately assert
that the evidence doesn�t show or support that this was an
intentional killing, not only is it appropriate to bring this up
at clemency, I think they�re obliged, representing their client
appropriately, to stress this point,� Berman said.
If executed, Smith would become the 51st inmate put to death in
Ohio since the state resumed executions in 1999. The state has
enough of its lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, to execute
Smith and two other inmates before the supply expires. Eight
more inmates are scheduled to die from November through mid-2015.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-mercy-plea-condemned-
ohio-man-says-he-tried-to-rape-baby-but-didnt-intend-to-kill-
her/2013/04/02/0eac4998-9bf2-11e2-9219-
51eb8387e8f1_singlePage.html?tid=obinsite
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