Double Murderer Set To Die; Juror In Case Seeks To Prevent That

CINCINNATI, OH — Ross Geiger, one of the jurors who convicted Raymond Tibbetts of murdering Tibbetts' wife and landlord in 1997, is now one of the main reasons Tibbetts will remain alive until at least the fall. It's not because Geiger had a change of heart over the conviction — Tibbetts was "obviously guilty" of killing Judith Crawford and Fred Hicks, he told The Cincinnati Enquirer — it's that jurors never received information about Tibbetts' past.

Geiger said it wasn't until years later after jurors were asked to recommend a punishment that he learned Tibbetts, now 60, was abused as a child and had been addicted to cocaine. Tibbetts' application for mercy says he and his siblings were tied to a bed at night and were underfed. They were also thrown down stairs, had their fingers beaten with spatulas and were burned.

That's something he said he should've known before being asked to suggest a death sentence.

Geiger challenged the sentence in court, but a federal appeals court ruled against Tibbets, finding that evidence the jury didn’t hear wouldn't have swayed their decision about Tibbetts’ “moral culpability" to commit the brutal killings.

Last month, the Loveland man wrote a letter asking Gov. John Kasich to spare the man Geiger had once condemned to death. Geiger says he believes the jury was misled about the "truly terrible conditions" of Tibbetts' upbringing.

"After reviewing the material, from the perspective of an original juror, I have deep concerns about the trial and the way it transpired," Geiger wrote. "This is why I am asking you to be merciful."

It worked. For now, at least.

Kasich delayed Tibbetts' execution to give the parole board enough time to reconsider clemency. The execution is now scheduled — tentatively — for Oct. 17.

Click here to read the full article from The Cincinnati Enquirer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Ross Geiger poses for a photograph at his home, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018, in Loveland, Ohio. Geiger, of suburban Cincinnati, voted for a death sentence 20 years ago and is now asking Ohio Gov. John Kasich to spare the condemned killer. He claims to have been compelled to follow the law when he voted in favor of execution for Raymond Tibbetts in 1997, saying now after reviewing documents presented at a hearing last year, he believes jurors didn't know enough about Tibbetts' rough childhood and abuse suffered in a foster home. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)