By Sharon Turco
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Campbell

Less than 24 hours before convicted killer Jerome Campbell was to be executed, Ohio Gov. Bob Taft spared his life Thursday. He now is under a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

The 42-year-old West End man is the first death row inmate to receive clemency in 12 years, when Gov. Richard Celeste commuted the sentences of seven death row inmates days before leaving office.

Taft has turned down nine requests for clemency since he took office in 1999. Eight of the inmates have been executed.

"This conclusion does not diminish in any way Mr. Campbell's responsibility for a brutal and senseless murder or the compassion I feel for (victim) Henry Turner and his family," Taft said in explaining his decision to let Campbell spend the rest of his life in prison.

Later, he added, "there was no smoking gun, so to speak. There was a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence."

Taft waited until the last minute - just hours after the Ohio Supreme Court denied Campbell a new trial - saying it was important to have all the information available before making such a significant decision.

"Relieved" is the only word to describe Campbell, said his public defender, Joe Wilhelm, who broke the good news to Campbell about 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

"We were hopeful that this would happen," Wilhelm said. "But, you never know."

Pat Jenkins-Smith, Campbell's sister, said their family is thrilled.

"It's like a big weight has been lifted off us," she said. "Of course we want him out, walking free. But he's not dying tomorrow, that's what matters right now."

Campbell maintains his innocence and is pursuing two appeals. He has asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider his request for a new trial based on new evidence and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene based on claims that jailhouse informants lied about his involvement in Turner's murder.

Turner's granddaughter, Darlene Frost, said it's been a tough week waiting for a decision, and hopes now maybe her family will have some closure. The Mount Healthy woman says it's not about whether Campbell lives or dies, but that he be punished.

"I am satisfied that he will spend the rest of his life in prison," she said.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen disagreed with Taft's decision, but said he respects the clemency process and understands what a difficult decision Taft had to make.

"It is important to point out that every court at every level that reviewed this case determined that Jerome Campbell viciously murdered Mr. Turner," Allen said.

He also noted the most important part of a parole board recommendation for clemency was that it did not exonerate Campbell of the murder.

The board determined Campbell killed Turner, but added, "The imposition of the death penalty should demand greater certainty, confidence and reliability as to the proper weighing of credible evidence that was submitted to the triers-of-fact in this case."

Campbell killed Turner on Christmas Eve morning in 1988 during a burglary of his West End apartment. Cincinnati police found Campbell's fingerprints and palm prints at the crime scene. Another witness saw him near the building the night of the murder.

The appeals court, the Ohio Supreme Court and a federal court upheld the conviction.

The case came back into the public eye after Campbell's attorneys sought a new trial in Hamilton County court based on newly discovered DNA evidence.

The DNA test revealed blood on Campbell's shoes that had been shown to the jury was his own, not the victim's. Other evidence revealed inmates who claimed Campbell confessed to the murder were given leniency in exchange for their testimony, attorneys argued.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Charles Kubicki said a new trial would not change the outcome, as did the appeals court and the Ohio Supreme Court.

The governor said Campbell's clemency appeal is different than others he's heard because of newly discovered evidence, namely the DNA test and the fact that the jailhouse snitches may have been compromised.

Jim Tobin, associate director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio and a member of a statewide organization opposing the death penalty, was thankful for Taft's decision and hopes he will later support a study of the entire death penalty system.

"We're excited," he said. "We simply disagree that death is needed, and that other alternatives, such as one given today, would indeed be fair, just and provide public safety."

Jim Siegel of Gannett Newspapers Ohio contributed to this report. E-mail sturco@enquirer.com