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Defence: Nix death penalty sought in case over 9 fire deaths
Original Publication Date: October 23, 2017 11:44PM
Publication Updated: April 24, 2025 10:49PM
AKRON, Ohio – Attorneys for a black man charged in two Ohio fires that killed nine people on his street allege race was a factor in the decision to seek capital punishment.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports prosecutors oppose the request to dismiss death penalty specifications in the case against 58-year-old Stanley Ford.
The defence says a disproportional number of blacks have faced the death penalty in Summit County.
Ford pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder charges in an April 2016 that killed two adults and a May 2017 blaze that killed two adults and five children.
Emails from the prosecutor’s office about the case will be reviewed by a county judge to determine whether that information should be shared with the defence attorneys arguing that race affected the handling of the case.
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Information from: Akron Beacon Journal, http://www.ohio.com
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