BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ahmad Fawzi Issa may not have pulled the trigger, prosecutors say, but he did just about everything else to set up the murder of two men last year in Westwood.
They say he hired the hit man, gave him a high-powered rifle, and told him when and where to ambush his victims.
"He was the director and producer of this crime," assistant county prosecutor Heather Russell said Wednesday at Mr. Issa's murder trial in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
She told jurors his involvement in the murder-for-hire scheme was so great that nothing less than a death sentence would be suitable punishment.
The jury began considering that possibility Wednesday after attorneys for both sides gave their closing arguments in the penalty phase of Mr. Issa's trial. The same jury convicted Mr. Issa of aggravated murder last week for hiring a gunman to kill Maher Khrais and his brother, Ziad Khreis, on Nov. 22.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict after six hours of deliberations Wednesday and was expected to resume work today.
Before they began discussing Mr. Issa's fate, the jurors heard defense attorney Terrence Ladrigan plead for his client's life. While prosecutors focused on Mr. Issa's involvement in planning the crime, Mr. Ladrigan emphasized that Mr. Issa did not commit the actual shooting.
He said life in prison without the possibility of parole is more fitting than execution.
"I don't think you need to kill this man," Mr. Ladrigan said. "Once we kill him, it's over. We can't go back and change it."
Ms. Russell, however, said defense attorneys presented no mitigating evidence to suggest Mr. Issa deserves a sentence other than death. She said he came from a good family, went to college and traveled to America from his home in Jordan to seek his fortune. "There is nothing in his background, nothing in his character, nothing in his involvement with the crime that mitigates his moral culpability," Ms. Russell said.
Mr. Issa's conviction last week followed the acquittal three months ago of Linda Khriss, who prosecutors think asked Mr. Issa to organize the plot because she wanted to be rid of her husband, Mr. Khrais.
A jury found Mrs. Khriss not guilty of all charges. The accused hit man, Andre Miles, is expected to go on trial later this month. If Mr. Issa's jury recommends the death penalty, Judge Davis will decide whether to accept it or impose a sentence of life in prison.
