URGENT ACTION

EXECUTION IN OHIO

Jason Getsy was executed in Ohio on 18 August.

Jason Getsy had been sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Ann Serafino. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland had rejected the state parole board’s recommendation for clemency. In a statement, Governor Strickland said that, "Although my decision is inconsistent with the recommendation of the majority of the members of the Parole Board, I appreciate and respect their thoughtful consideration and review of this difficult case."

Four US Supreme Court Justices would have granted a stay of execution, one short of a majority. The four were Justice John Paul Stevens, Justice Ruth Ginsburg, Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. This was Justice Sotomayor’s first vote in a death penalty case, having been nominated as an Associate Justice by President Barack Obama in May 2009 and having taken her seat on the Court on 8 August.

This is the first update of UA 200/09. Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/086/2009/en

URGENT ACTION

EXECUTION IN OHIO

ADditional Information

There have been 36 executions in the USA this year, four of them in Ohio. There have been 1,172 executions nationwide since the USA resumed judicial killing in 1977. Ohio accounts for 32 of these executions.

Further information on UA: 200/09 Index: AMR 51/092/2009 Issue Date: 19 August 2009