13 March 2020 :

Warren County jury recommends death penalty for Jack Welninski, 34, White. Welninski was found guilty of murdering cellmate Kevin Nill, 40, in their cell at Lebanon Correction Institution in April 2018. Judge Donald Oda II will decide whether to accept the jury’s recommendation on Thursday. Welninski used a bandage intended to immobilize his broken arm to strangle to death Nill, who was serving 18 months for attempted domestic violence. John Kaspar, Welninski’s lead lawyer, urged the jury to look beyond the facts of the case and also hold the State of Ohio accountable for death. “This is an institutional failure,” Kaspar said. “If Jack is guilty so too is the State of Ohio, so too is Lebanon Correctional Facility.” Wellninski is already serving 69 years in prison for the Dec. 18, 2015 attempted murder of police officer Tim Stecker. Welninski could be sentenced to 20, 25 or 30 to life in prison, as well as life without parole and the death penalty.