An Ohio murder case ends with death penalty
Tom Alciere
The Toledo (Ohio) Blade
Lomax gets death sentence for
Fremont
homicide
March 26, 1999
BY KIM BATES
BLADE STAFF WRITER
FREMONT - When a judge here
imposed a death
sentence yesterday on convicted
killer Tazwell Lomax,
the stocky Clyde man slowly
looked toward the
courtroom ceiling and stared.
Lomax, who will turn 26 next
month, became the first
person in Sandusky County to
receive the death penalty
in more than 40 years.
``The panel unanimously finds
the defendant Tazwell
Lomax purposely caused the death
of [Deanna Jones],''
Sandusky County Common Pleas
Judge Margaret
Weaver said on behalf of a
three-judge panel.
As the judge imposed the
penalty, Lomax's adoptive
mother, Cheryl, rocked her head
forward.
Members of the Jones family
sobbed and hugged one
another.
Lomax, who was wearing a bright
orange jail jumpsuit,
said nothing as deputies led him
from the courtroom.
The sentence automatically is
appealed to the Ohio
Supreme Court.
Mrs. Jones's husband, Jim, of
Fremont, let out a loud
sigh as he walked from the
courtroom.
`` A lot of peoples' lives have
been ruined, and some
people don't have a life
anymore,'' Mr. Jones said
outside the courtroom.
Cheri Harman, of Waterford
Township, Michigan, Mrs.
Jones's daughter, said: ``I will
never find forgiveness in
my heart for him. I'm anxious
for him to meet my
mother, and his Maker.''
Rick Miller, of Fremont, Mrs.
Jones's son, added: ``It is
what is right. It was a terrible
crime that happened. The
severity of the this crime -
it's very, very gruesome. I
still have to live with that the
rest of my life.''
Jerry Lomax, the convicted
killer's adoptive father,
waved his hand in the air as he
was leaving the
courtroom with his wife and
said: ``We've got nothing to
say.''
Tazwell Lomax was convicted in
May, 1997, of slashing
Mrs. Jones's throat on June 13,
1996, and robbing
Grate's Silver Top bar, where
she worked.
Investigators said Lomax - a
former Grate's employee -
killed Mrs. Jones, 56, after the
bar had closed, stole
about $1,500 from the cash
register, and then tried to
make it appear as though she had
been raped.
He had been sentenced earlier to
10 to 25 years in
prison for aggravated robbery.
But sentencing for aggravated
murder was tied up for
nearly two years with appeals.
In the beginning, the
same panel of judges ruled that
Lomax couldn't receive
the death penalty because an
indictment had been
worded improperly. Last year,
appeals judges
overturned that decision.
Judge Weaver said she and Judge
Judith Lanzinger of
Lucas County and retired Judge
Bruce Huffman of
Sandusky County weighed all the
mitigating factors in
the case, including Lomax's
remorse, his troubled
history, the possibility of
rehabilitation, and the fact that
his mother drank when she was
pregnant.
A defense expert testified
Wednesday that Lomax had
fetal alcohol effect, which he
described as a ``mental
defect'' that caused judgment,
planning, and control
problems for Lomax.
Defense attorneys also pointed
to Lomax's rocky first
two years in life, during which
time his biological parents
drank, fought, and provided
inadequate child care.
Defense attorney Adrian Cimerman
said last night that
he was disappointed by the
judges' decision.
``We're both against the death
penalty,'' he said on
behalf of co-counsel Don
Cameron. ``We certainly hope
the [Supreme] Court feels
differently.''
Prosecutor John Meyers looked
sad as he emerged
from his office about 20
minutes. ``I don't envy what the
judges had to do,'' Mr. Meyers
said. ``Nobody takes any
particular joy in this.''
Before the court session began,
Mr. Meyers put his
arms around Lomax's parents'
backs while they were
seated in the courtroom. He said
something to them, but
later said he didn't wish to
repeat the exchange. ``It was
a private thing,'' he said.
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--
barry
> http://www.toledoblade.com/editorial/news/9c26taz.htm
>
> The Toledo (Ohio) Blade
>
>
>
>
> Lomax gets death sentence for
> Fremont
> homicide
>
> March 26, 1999
>
> BY KIM BATES
> BLADE STAFF WRITER
>
> FREMONT - When a judge here
> imposed a death
> sentence yesterday on convicted
> killer Tazwell Lomax,
> the stocky Clyde man slowly
> looked toward the
> courtroom ceiling and stared.
>
> Lomax, who will turn 26 next
> month, became the first
> person in Sandusky County to
> receive the death penalty
> in more than 40 years.
>
screw them up?Can't do them any good...
Barry