22 May 2025 :
May 9, 2025 - Ohio. Death sentence of Donna Roberts overturned
Not the guilty verdict.
The woman, who is now 81, White, is accused of organising the killing of her husband, Robert Fingerhut, on 11 December 2001 in order to pocket the life insurance. She was first sentenced to death together with her lover, Nathaniel Jackson, on 20 June 2003 (see). Those death sentences were overturned on 2 August 2006 (see) by the state Supreme Court because, at the time of the trial, the judge had the outline of the motivation written by a prosecution collaborator without the defence being informed of the fact. Both defendants were again sentenced to death, Roberts on 29 December 2008 (see) and Jackson, who is now 52 years old, on 14 August 2012. On 22 October 2013 (see), the State Supreme Court overturned Roberts' death sentence for the second time (by a 5-2 vote), finding that possible mitigating circumstances were not properly explained to the jury, such as a difficult childhood, possible brain trauma after a car accident, and the fact that as an adult she had engaged in socially positive behaviour, such as having been an active fundraiser for wounded soldiers in Israel. On 30 April 2014 (see) Judge Ronald Rice of the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court again sentenced the woman to death.
On 1 May 2025 (see HoC), the Federal Court of Appeals (6th Circuit) had overturned co-defendant Jackson's death sentence (not the guilty verdict) because the trial judge (now deceased) had prevented the defence from adequately arguing the existence of any mitigating factors. Now, on 9 May, the same section of the Court of Appeal has also overturned Roberts' death sentence, ordering that, within 180 days, a new jury will hear the defendant's mitigation proposals and issue a new verdict, which may again be a death sentence, or life imprisonment. Jackson's hearing is tentatively set for February 2026. No date has been set for Roberts pending the outcome of the prosecution's appeal, which immediately announced it would contest the reversal.
https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2025/05/court-orders-new-sentencing-hearings-in-death-penalty-case/
https://www.mahoningmatters.com/news/crime/article306825391.html
