Unit 1012: The Victims' Families For The Death Penalty.: OHIO COALITION FOR SAFETY AND FAIRNESS

State Rep. Michael O’Brien, D-Warren, center, tells a group of protestors outside the Trumbull County Courthouse Friday that he was one of two Trumbull County legislators who voted against Senate Bill 256, which abolishes life without parole sentences for juvenile criminals, like Jacob LaRosa, who will be first eligible for supervised release in 2040. LaRosa was convicted of killing Marie Belcastro of Niles, who was the grandmother of Brian Kirk, right. Staff photo / Guy Vogrin

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2021/07/murder-victims-kin-fight-law-allowing-retroactive-parole-for-juveniles/]

The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them. - Lois McMaster Bujold

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/lois_mcmaster_bujold_389472]

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2019/07/unit-1012-supports-death-sentence-for.html

As we, the members of Unit 1012: The VFFDP, are anti-crime and pro victims rights activist ourselves, we will also help fight any attempt to end LWOP for juveniles and block parole. Please support this group, Ohio Coalition for Safety and Fairness, and donate some money if you want. Here is the information:

We are the Ohio Coalition for Safety and Fairness

We are survivors and activists united in opposition to Senate Bill 256 (more appropriately titled the Teen Killer Empowerment Act or TKEA) and similar pro-criminal measures. SB 256 mandates parole options for the majority of Ohio’s most dangerous teen killers, even those whose crimes were so heinous, they were sentenced to LWOP (life without parole). We believe deeply in the people of Ohio, in the Ohio Constitution, and the rule of law. We will not stand by as out of touch legislators hop on board with the latest fad of coddling teen killers, even hiding behind the US Supreme Court to justify their pro-crime measures.

https://ohiocsf.com/

Ohio native protests Senate Bill 256, which offers parole to juvenile criminals

Lauren Siegel
Jun 28, 2021 Updated Jun 28, 2021

One Ohio native is touring the state to fight against a recently passed senate bill involving the courts system, and he made a stop in Lima on Monday. Brian Kirk's grandmother, Marie Belcastro, was murdered in 2015 at the age of 94 by then 15-year-old, Jacob LaRosa. LaRosa was sentenced to life in prison without parole three years later.

In April of this year, Ohio legislators passed Senate Bill 256 which allows anyone who committed a crime under age 18 to be up for parole, thus abolishing life without parole for juvenile criminals. Kirk founded the Ohio Coalition for Safety and Fairness to protest this bill and thinks its passing is an injustice.

"Look, this law might be a good idea, but they did it retroactively which I don't think is fair at all, because we had closure, we had moved on, we had started really to heal," Kirk explains. "And then they passed this law without victim input. Okay, we all agree that kids deserve a second chance. But you look deeper into a case like this, not to punish Jacob but to protect us. Not just my family but society from the likes of Jacob."

Kirk says he plans to file a petition for injunction against the bill on Friday. For more information on his organization and Senate Bill 256, visit ohiocsf.com.

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.hometownstations.com/news/allen_county/ohio-native-protests-senate-bill-256-which-offers-parole-to-juvenile-criminals/article_4b84ee2e-d857-11eb-aa78-1f0e648823ef.html

Brian Kirk's grandmother, Marie Belcastro, was murdered in 2015 at the age of 94 by then 15-year-old, Jacob LaRosa. LaRosa was sentenced to life in prison without parole three years later.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.hometownstations.com/news/allen_county/ohio-native-protests-senate-bill-256-which-offers-parole-to-juvenile-criminals/article_4b84ee2e-d857-11eb-aa78-1f0e648823ef.html]

Murder victim’s kin fight law allowing retroactive parole for juveniles

Jul 3, 2021

Guy Vogrin

Reporter

gvogrin@tribtoday.com

WARREN — The grandson of Jacob LaRosa’s murder victim has taken to the road in Ohio this week to protest a new state law that would give LaRosa an earlier chance to be released from prison.

Brian Kirk, of southwest Florida and formerly of Niles, made a stop at the Trumbull County courthouse Friday with several family members and friends of 94-year-old Marie Belcastro, who was murdered by the then-15-year-old LaRosa on March 30, 2015.

Earlier this year, Ohio legislators passed Senate Bill 256 which abolishes life without parole sentences for juvenile criminals, like LaRosa, who will be first eligible for supervised release in 2040.

Kirk founded the Ohio Coalition for Safety and Fairness to protest this bill, and he thinks its passage was an injustice.

“I am at one of my favorite places — the Trumbull County courthouse — where Judge W. Wyatt McKay had sentenced my grandmother’s killer to life plus 31 years,” said Kirk, who brought along signs telling Gov. Mike DeWine and other legislators to do something to counter the effects of the new law. “Make sure that justice is served. Don’t undo what judges and juries in Ohio have decided.”

While Kirk says he often prays for LaRosa, he said he thinks the killer could be free — in a spiritual sense — while staying behind bars.

“OK, we all agree that kids deserve a second chance. But you look deeper into a case like this, which was adjudicated through the juvenile court system, then you see that the legislators weren’t paying attention to the consequences of this bill. They aren’t protecting not just my family, but society from the likes of Jacob.”

In the last few weeks, Kirk has held or will have 13 events statewide to protest SB 256.

In addition to Warren, he has visited Bowling Green, Lima, Wapakoneta, Findlay, Kettering, Xenia, Delaware, Marion, Mansfield, Ashland and Wooster. The tour concludes July 9 at the statehouse in Columbus.

SB 256, effective since April, mandates parole eligibility for almost all juvenile criminals, forcing victims to endure traumatizing parole hearings every five years, opponents say.

Another Niles case involving the 1983 killing of police officer John Utlak will be affected. Utlak’s killer, Fred Joseph, who was 17 at the time of the 1983 slaying, will be having a parole hearing in September that was moved up from 2022 because of the new law.

Kirk said he is working on three solutions to this problem — to amend or repeal the law through the Legislature, the courts, or passing an Ohio constitutional amendment.

He noted the crowd of several dozen people at the courthouse, which included state Rep. Michael O’Brien, D-Warren, and former state Rep. James P. Trakas, who is now a councilman for the Cuyahoga County community of Independence.

“We believe the judgment of Trumbull County residents is different than those of other communities,” Kirk said.

Trakas, a friend of the Kirk family, said the passing of the law was a “grave injustice” to victims of crime.

“This guy (LaRosa) should be in prison for the rest of his life. That was a no-brainer,” Trakas said.

O’Brien, who voted against SB 256, said he is in consultation with the County Prosecutors Association of Ohio to try to repeal certain aspects of the new law. O’Brien said he realizes the entire law can’t be repealed, as it does take into account help for teen offenders of lesser crimes.

“We should find some middle ground, but we know we won’t be able to take the whole thing down,” O’Brien said.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2021/07/murder-victims-kin-fight-law-allowing-retroactive-parole-for-juveniles/

Ohio Coalition for Safety & Fairness: Murder victims' families to rally Ohioans in 13 county "RV Barnstorm" against parole for juvenile killers

News provided by

Ohio Coalition for Safety & Fairness

Jun 24, 2021, 18:17 ET

WARREN, Ohio, June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Brian Kirk, grandson of Niles murder victim Marie Belcastro, will hold 13 separate events to protest Senate Bill 256, the new Ohio law that could free Belcastro's killer. SB256, effective since April, mandates parole eligibility for almost all juvenile criminals, forcing victims to endure traumatizing parole hearings every five years. Kirk, along with other survivors, is working to amend or repeal the law through the legislature, courts, and Ohio Constitutional amendment.

Beneficiaries of the bill include Gavon Ramsay, who murdered and sexually assaulted 98-year-old Margaret Douglas in Wadsworth and Jacob Larosa, who attempted to rape and then murdered 94-year-old Marie Belcastro in 2015.

"SB 256 is devastating to victims, as it forces us to endure traumatizing parole hearings, robs us of closure, and betrays our faith in the justice system. Victims' devastation is enhanced by lawmakers' apparent disregard for us," said Patty Sacco, great-niece of Margaret Douglas.

Kirk and Sacco have written hundreds of letters to Ohio lawmakers, including a five-page hand-written UPS Next Day Air letter to Gov. DeWine. "He never wrote back, never called, and I've known him for 31 years. Of Ohio's 132 legislators, many of whom I know very well, only four have responded to our letters and phone calls. Four."

Kirk is crowd-funding the tour. He and his family will meet with voters, fellow victims, media, and lawmakers. "Ohioans passed Marsy's Law with 83% of the vote," said Kirk. "When voters learn what their leaders did with SB256 in a lame duck session, they'll demand change. We're coming back to Ohio to shine a bright light on this pro-killer, anti-victim law."

The tour will include Kirk filing a petition for injunction against the bill in Trumbull County, as well as a final event at Capital Square in Columbus. Other stops include Bowling Green, Lima, Wapakoneta, Findlay, Kettering, Xenia, Delaware, Marion, Mansfield, Ashland, Wooster, Warren, and finally Columbus. The tour is Monday June 28-July 2, and July 9 (Complete Itinerary).

The Ohio Coalition for Safety and Fairness was founded to speak up for surviving victims of juvenile murderers in Ohio. We are NOT a non-profit, as we often advocate in the political realm. For more: www.OhioCSF.com

SOURCE Ohio Coalition for Safety & Fairness

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ohio-coalition-for-safety--fairness-murder-victims-families-to-rally-ohioans-in-13-county-rv-barnstorm-against-parole-for-juvenile-killers-301319863.html

Those who allow violent criminals the opportunity to kill, maim and rape, share the responsibility for it and the tragedy such crimes produce. More, they allow these monsters to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as their own.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/3wrd9cs77z9g/1269/those-who-allow-violent-criminals-the-opportunity-to-kill]

http://soldierexecutionerprolifer2008.blogspot.com/2021/05/mafia-boss-giovanni-brusca-paroled-from.html

RELATED LINKS:

http://ohiocsf.com/

https://teenkillers.org/

Ohio native protests Senate Bill 256, which offers parole to juvenile criminals

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2000560396761988&id=1299628893521812

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=128057786126656&id=105839715015130

https://www.hometownstations.com/news/allen_county/ohio-native-protests-senate-bill-256-which-offers-parole-to-juvenile-criminals/article_4b84ee2e-d857-11eb-aa78-1f0e648823ef.html

https://www.tribtoday.com/news/latest-news/2021/07/murder-victims-kin-protests-new-law/

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2020/12/no-to-sb-256-please-contact-ohio.html

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2021/06/show-me-money-larry-householder.html