CLEVELAND — An Ashland serial killer sentenced to death for murdering women across three Ohio counties appealed his 2018 death penalty in federal court, blaming a sleepy judge, inadequate defense counsel and faulty prosecutors.
Court-appointed attorneys representing Shawn Grate listed 18 separate “grounds for relief” that U.S. Northern District of Ohio Court Judge Bridget Brennan will consider in her ruling.
One of those arguments accused the trial judge — former Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge Ron Forsthoefel — of sleeping through portions of the trial, an accusation allegedly made by a juror in the case.
Forsthoefel was not immediately available to comment Monday.
The appeal seeks to overturn the murder convictions, as well as the death penalty sentence.
Grate, 48, is one of 116 inmates on death row in Ohio. He awaits his penalty at Ross Correctional Institution.
He was sentenced to death in 2018 after his conviction for the murders of Ashland women Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffin.
He was also convicted of killing three additional women, two from Richland County (Candice Cunningham and Rebekah Leicy) and another from Marion County (Dana Nicole Lowrey).
He was sentenced to life imprisonment for those killings.
The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld Grate’s death sentence twice, and Forsthoefel denied Grate’s 2022 petition for post-conviction relief.
Public defender points blame
In the 1,021-page appeal, Grate’s attorneys argue he was denied a fair trial from the start, beginning with intense local pretrial publicity that tainted the jury pool.
They claim the court never granted a change of venue and failed to conduct sequestered, individual questioning of jurors — steps they argue were critical given the media attention at the time.
“Grate’s arrest for kidnapping and multiple murders was met with pervasive and sensationalized news coverage in the small town of Ashland, Ohio,” reads the appeal. “The nature, content, and extent of the news coverage compels a presumption of prejudice …
“Thus, the venue should have been transferred in order to secure Grate’s right to a fair trial.”
These circumstances, according to the appeal, created a fundamentally unfair environment that undermined the integrity of the trial.
Attorneys placed much of the blame on Grate’s own legal team, accusing them of failing to ensure an impartial jury. Defense counsel allegedly dropped the ball on a number of crucial matters, such as objecting to prejudicial evidence, ensuring proper jury instructions and presenting relevant mitigating factors.
Attorneys also stated that Grate’s legal team failed to give an opening statement and failed to cross examine 34 out of 50 witnesses called by the state during the guilt phase of the trial.
Grate’s defense was led by the late Robert Whitney from Richland County, who died in January 2024. His son, Rolf, also on the defense team, is now a magistrate in Morrow County.
Attorneys also argued the court leaned too heavily on victim impact statements and left too much power in the hands of the judge, rather than the jury, in determining his death sentence.
The attorneys also claimed prosecutorial misconduct and flawed court procedures violated Grate’s his constitutional rights, namely due process and protection from cruel and unusual punishment.
They also challenge Ohio’s entire death penalty framework, including the use of lethal injection.
Ashland County prosecutor says arguments ‘unfounded’
Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell called every one of Grate’s arguments in the habeas corpus filing “unfounded.”
“The defense team here is grasping at straws,” he said. “(Grate) has been through every appeal available in the state system, and they’ve upheld overwhelmingly every action that happened in trial court.
“Now he’s moved on to the federal court in an effort to save himself. Ultimately, it will all be for naught,” Tunnell said Monday.
Did Forsthoefel fall asleep during trial?
Grate’s appeal cites an affidavit filed by Tia Schmitz, a mitigation/investigation specialist with the Wrongful Conviction Project with the Office of the Ohio Public Defender.
The affidavit cites an April 2021 interview Schmitz had with Sondra Owen, a juror from Grate’s case.
“Sondra said she felt the judge was good but as the trial went on, he became more disconnected. She saw the judge fall asleep,” reads the affidavit.
Tunnell disagreed.
“Definitely not,” Tunnell said. “The judge was always extremely attentive for every trial and definitely that one. I think they are mistaken.”