COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A controversial Ohio bill that would have given TJ Lane a chance at parole despite his life-long prison sentence was allowed to die Wednesday in a Senate committee.
State Sen. John Eklund, who co-sponsored a version of the bill in his criminal justice committee, said Wednesday that he isn’t sure the legislation -- despite changes to accommodate critics -- will be revived in 2017.
During a hearing in the state Capitol, Eklund announced the amendment and said the bill would no longer apply to inmates such as Lane, who was convicted of aggravated murder for the shooting deaths of three Chardon High School classmates: Daniel Parmertor, Russell King and Demetrius Hewlin.
“Was the testimony [at a committee hearing] from last week and the reaction of some of the folks up in my district impactful? You bet it was. And why shouldn’t it be? But if their concern is to exempt from the bill TJ Lane, my amendment would do the trick.”
The original bill, which started in the Ohio House, would have given parole hearings to juvenile offenders serving long sentences when the inmate turned 40. Lane was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility.
Eklund said the impetus behind the bill began with U.S. Supreme Court decisions which found life-without-parole sentences for juveniles to be unconstitutional. The Ohio Sentencing Commission, an arm of the state Supreme Court, recommended changes to state law that address the high court rulings.
The law easily passed the House, 92-4 and was heading for probable passage in the Senate when opposition appeared earlier this month following a story by Channel 3 News.
Eklund said he expected the criticism.
However, it wasn’t until the Channel 3 News reports surfaced that the amendment was added.
“I’ve had reaction from the public who said this is a great idea and they think that we should do this. I’ve had reaction from the public who said this is the worst thing and takes us to the road to perdition,” Eklund told Channel 3 News following Wednesday’s hearing.
Eklund said his desire all along was to satisfy the requirements of the law and the concerns of his constituents.
In Ohio, the sentences are not mandatory. Rather, a life with no parole sentence can only come when a trial judge makes certain findings, including taking into consideration the offender’s age. The new law would have stripped the judges of giving a true no-parole sentence to a juvenile. Instead, a parole board would have decided how long an inmate serves.
Critics -- including Ohio prosecutors and the families of the students shot in Chardon -- voiced their displeasure after Channel 3 News first reported Eklund’s bill. They believed the sentence should stand and that Lane should never be allowed to even request parole.
“He’s a violent criminal. He’s violent. What’s to say he’s not going to do this again?” said Holly Walczak, whose Nick was shot and left paralyzed during the Chardon High School shooting. “My son will never get a second chance to walk and there are three boys whose families won't get second chances to hug them."
The House bill would allow juveniles sentenced to life without parole to apply for parole after 35 years. The Senate bill is more lenient, allowing parole consideration when the offender reaches age 40.
The Ohio Public Defender’s Office said there are as many as nine Ohio inmates serving life without parole for killings committed as a juvenile.
About 62 inmates -- serving lesser life sentences -- would be affected by the law changes.
Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz has criticized any changes. He points out that Lane lost his appeals even after the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court that banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences.