ASHLAND — Who will pay for Ashland County’s pending capital case?
There are only two options — Howard Walters or Ashland County. But the answer to that question remains a mystery and court records indicate it could be May before it’s answered.
Walters, 59, is accused of the 2023 slaying of his son-in-law, Kurtis Harstine, 41. He faces a number of charges related to Harstine’s death, including aggravated murder.
The case is being tried as a capital case, meaning Walters faces the death penalty. It also means Walters, under state law, is afforded rights such as having an extra attorney and experts.
‘New ground’
But capital cases are also expensive. The last one cost the county $115,734.30 because the defendant, Shawn Grate, was determined to be indigent.
Walters, on paper, is not indigent, Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell has said. But the question came up when Walters’ wife filed for divorce in November, which froze the couple’s assets and bank accounts.
“Frankly, this is sorta new ground for everybody. It’s rare that you have someone in this status,” Tunnell has said of Walters.
That divorce wrapped up last month, court records show, which should bring the answer to the question at the forefront of this story into focus.
The wife, her divorce attorney argued, is a “stay-at-home grandmother” who hasn’t worked for six years and who has relied on the couple’s rental property income and her former husband’s job.
She started college but never finished “because she worked to help (Walters) through college.”
The separation agreement states Walters earned approximately $100,000 per year for the last three years “from his employment and consulting work, but he is no longer employed due to being incarcerated for his pending criminal charges.”
Walters worked as a professor of adult education at Ashland University from 2003-2021, according to his LinkedIn account.
Most recently, he worked for North Central State College as an academic administrator from June 2021 to May 2023 and his account lists him as a freelance “research and evaluation scholar” currently.
Court records show an LLC with eight rental properties with a total assessed value of just under $710,000.
According to the separation agreement, the wife will receive the marital residence, all eight rental properties, the LLC bank account and an equal share of Walters’ retirement assets.
A pre-trial hearing for the capital case was scheduled for Tuesday — but Walters’ attorney, Jim Mayer III, asked for a continuance.
The reason? Mayer said it will take time to disperse funds according to the separation agreement for an equal division of retirement assets.
“That process is underway but funds will not be dispersed until the end of April, beginning of May 2024. As a result, (Walters) is unable to accurately attest via affidavit to the account balance until it has been divided and taxes and penalties assessed,” reads Mayer’s motion.
Mayer asked the court to schedule the pre-trial hearing for the first or second week of May.
The court has yet to reschedule the hearing, according to court records.
Ready, if necessary
Meanwhile, the Ashland County Court of Common Pleas has planned for the money should it ever be needed for the case. The budget reflects $125,000 earmarked for “capital case fees.”
The hourly rate for a public defender in a capital case is $140 and applies to all stages, including trial, appeal and post conviction proceedings.
According to reporting from Court News Ohio, the Ohio Public Defender Commission used to cover 100% of the costs for these cases.
“Now, counties pay a portion of the costs through their legal defense funds,” reads the article from July 2023.