12 May 2025 :

May 1, 2025 - Ohio. Federal court overturns Nathaniel Jackson’s death sentence

A federal judge on May 1 formally vacated Jackson’s death sentence and ordered Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to hold a new sentencing hearing within 180 days — by late October 2025.

If the prosecutor’s office fails to do so, Jackson’s sentence would default to life in prison. Prosecutors can still seek the death penalty, but the jury will now hear all relevant evidence before deciding.

This comes after the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in March, found Jackson’s 2002 sentencing was tainted by misconduct from the trial judge, who improperly blocked key evidence that could have swayed the jury toward a lesser punishment.

Donna Roberts, now 61, was convicted of the 2001 murder of her ex-husband, 57-year-old Robert Fingerhut, in Howland. Prosecutors said Jackson, just 2 days after being released from prison, shot Fingerhut in a plot with Fingerhut’s ex-wife, Roberts, who stood to gain $550,000 from life insurance policies.

At his resentencing, Jackson’s defense team will be allowed to present previously barred mitigating evidence, details about his background, mental health or other factors that might convince a jury to choose life in prison without parole instead of death.

Roberts, Jackson’s co-defendant, also was sentenced to death. Jackson remains incarcerated as the state prepares for the resentencing. His legal team has not yet commented on the ruling. On Jackson’s case see also HoC 20/11/2002 and 14/08/2012.

https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2025/05/state-orders-new-sentencing-in-murder-case/