This is The Murders Began with me, your host, Blake Hardin Tatum.
I’m not here to debate the death penalty. Twenty-seven states still have executions including Ohio. Yes, the United States joins China and North Korea and Saudi Arabia in executing adults and minors alike.
It’s been a long road from Tia Wetzel to here, but Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Lorraine Pope, has been charged with the aggravated murder of her mother, Anna Moretti.
In Ohio, when a person plans and executes the death of another, and they’re found guilty, there are two punishments available, life in prison or death.
Because of the person indicted here, the attorney general has stepped in as special counsel. Life in prison is not what Pope deserves, according to Liam Brody. He is seeking the death penalty.
In a criminal case, where the defendant can be deprived of his or her life, the stakes are high and the resulting procedure more complicated. There are two phases to a death penalty case.
First, a jury would have to find Lorraine Pope guilty of aggravated murder, that proof, of course, would have to be beyond a reasonable doubt.
If, and only if, that happens, then a jury moves on to a death phase. Just because a prosecutor seeks death does not make the sentence automatic. A jury has to listen to and weigh evidence of aggravating and mitigating factors when determining whether a defendant can be sentenced to death.
Usually, at this phase, prosecutors focus on the heinous nature of the crime or crimes committed. Defense attorneys call the defendant’s friends, family, and others to demonstrate a defendant’s better qualities. There are only two possible outcomes. Death or life in prison without parole.
Either would likely end Lorraine Pope’s alleged life of crime. Only time will tell what a jury decides.