Sydney Cornwell

Prosecutors have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to set an execution date for a Youngstown man convicted in the 1996 gang-related killing a 3-year-old Youngstown girl.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains and Assistant Prosecutor Ralph Rivera filed paperwork last month in the case against Sidney Cornwell, who has been on death row since May 1997.

According to documents, Cornwell and other members of a neighborhood gang drove up to an apartment on Oak Park Lane intending to shoot a rival gang member in retaliation for an earlier incident.

After learning that the intended victim was not at the residence, Cornwell opened fire, killing a young girl, Jessica Ballew, and wounding three adults, court documents say.

Prosecutors noted that Cornwell has exhausted all state and federal appeals. They asked for a death warrant setting an execution date “without further delay.”

They added, “The family of Jessica Lynn Ballew and the citizens of Mahoning County await justice. They are surely entitled to closure.”

Public defenders have not yet filed a response.

The next Valley person scheduled for execution is Roderick Davie, who killed three people in Warren in 1991. Davie is scheduled for lethal injection Aug. 10 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.
To read more;
www.vindy.com/news/2010/feb/11/execution-date-requested-for-youngstown-/?newswatch

Parole hearing for 3-year-old's killer next week

The Ohio Parole Board will conduct a death-penalty clemency hearing for inmate Sidney Cornwell of Youngstown at 9 a.m. next Wednesday.

Cornwell was convicted in the 1996 murder of 3-year-old Jessica Ballew in Youngstown. He is scheduled for execution Nov. 16.
www.vindy.com/news/2010/oct/06/parole-hearing-3-year-olds-killer-next-week/

Clemency sought for killer of 3-year-old

Youngstown man ‘never meant to kill that baby,’ friend argues at hearing

Family members called Sidney Cornwell a changed man who has found faith and maturity in the years since entering Ohio’s death row for the gang-related murder of a Youngstown child.

Prosecutors called him a gangster who shot to kill with hopes of impressing other gang members.

The Ohio Parole Board must weigh the two sides as it considers whether to recommend clemency for the Youngstown inmate, who is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection next month at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.

Cornwell’s execution is set for Nov. 16, though he is seeking a sentence commutation to life in prison.


Public defenders argued that Cornwell was an unwanted child born into a deteriorating marriage, with parents who used drugs. He and his siblings were neglected by a mother who worked long hours and a father who was a violent man who beat them with “ashtrays, belts, wires, whatever he could pick up,” said Andrew King, an attorney from the public defender’s office.

Cornwell was taunted as a fat kid with breasts who failed in school and in making friends — the result of Klinefelter’s syndrome, an abnormal chromosome condition that leads to late development and social and learning issues. The condition was officially diagnosed earlier this year.

Rob Lowe, an attorney from the public defender’s office, said the jury that heard Cornwell’s case did not review his medical records, was unaware of the Klinefelter’s syndrome and was not told about the risk factors in his life that made him susceptible to gang involvement.

Legal counsel also said Cornwell did not mean to kill anyone, in particular a child. They said he has since admitted to the crime and is remorseful. And they said he has renounced his gang involvement, earned a GED, attends Bible studies and prays on a regular basis.

“Sidney is not the same person today as he was at 19...,” Lowe said.

In emotional pleas to the board, Cornwell’s family members and friends said the inmate was truly sorry.

“He just can’t wait to see them to tell [the victim’s family] how much he wanted them to forgive him for what he had done,” said Marcia Walker, a friend and spiritual mentor. She added later, “He wants the family to know he is sorry. He never meant to kill that baby.”

“If you could please forgive him, because he didn’t do it on purpose,” added Beverly Cornwell Phillips, the inmate’s mother.

“I don’t blame none of you all,” her father, Virgil Ballew, told members of Cornwell’s family during Wednesday’s proceedings. He added, holding up a picture of his daughter: “But that’s my baby. I didn’t even get to see her grow up. ... I forgive Sidney for what he did. ... It’s up to God to do what he’s got to do. If he gets put to death, he gets put to death, because he knew what he was doing.”

The parole board will issue a recommendation in the case on Oct. 21. Gov. Ted Strickland has final say whether to grant clemency.

To read entire article or view more;www.vindy.com/news/2010/oct/14/clemency-sought-for-killer-of-3-year-old/

Cop recalls killer’s case

Cornwell told the parole board he denied involvement in the crime for nine years because he was in denial, but he also said he has found a faith in God and it has helped him achieve an inner peace after he asked God for forgiveness.

The parole board's report states Cornwell severed all ties with his criminal past and that he feels remorse. He has held a job in prison since 1999 and attends church services regularly and has spoken to students about what life is like on Death Row, according to the report.

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www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/549574/Cop-recalls-killer-s-case.html?nav=5021

Governor's Statement on Clemency Application of Sidney Cornwell

governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=1813

Death Row Inmate Spared Due To Medical Condition, Upbringing

Except;

Another of Cornwell’s public defenders, Andrew King, expressed gratitude to Strickland and said he made the right decision in the case.

“We also want to acknowledge that Sidney’s still remorseful and regretful for what he did,” King said.

Seventeen men have been put to death since Strickland took office in 2007. Cornwell is the third death row inmate this year to be spared by the governor.

In September, Strickland cited “legitimate questions” about evidence used to convict Kevin Keith, though he said he believed the inmate committed the crimes of which he was accused. In June, he also spared Richard Nields, who strangled his girlfriend during an argument, because of court decisions that questioned the appropriateness of a death sentence.

The decision is the last Strickland must make regarding a death penalty case. He was defeated in this month’s election and will be succeeded by Republican John Kasich in January. Ohio’s next execution is scheduled for Feb. 17.

Kasich also may have to address concerns about a shortage of a lethal injection drug that has prompted execution delays across the country.

State prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said Cornwell was in the process of being moved off death row at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown.

More;
newsone.com/nation/associatedpress4/sidney-cornwell-wont-be-executed-for-murder-crime-due-to-undiagnosed-medical-condition/