Wednesday, September 08, 1999Attorneys: Spare child killer because he was abused
BY DAN HORN and EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati EnquirerRalph Lynch's attorneys say he learned about child abuse long before he raped and killed a 6-year-old girl.
Throughout his childhood, they say, he was the victim.
Defense attorneys told jurors Tuesday that Mr. Lynch's troubled history helps explain why he abused and strangled Mary Jennifer Love last year.
They urged the jurors to consider Mr. Lynch's past before considering whether to recommend a death sentence.
“Ralph Lynch was sexually abused as a child,” said defense attorney Roxann Dieffenbach. “As an adult, we see the transformation of Ralph Lynch from victim to victimizer.”
She then presented several wit nesses who testified that Mr. Lynch and his siblings were abused by neighbors while growing up.
Mr. Lynch's aunt, Elizabeth Iverson, said she heard years later that Mr. Lynch was handed over to two abusive neighbors in exchange for grocery money.
The defense offered the details about Mr. Lynch's past in hopes of saving him from death row.
The jury must determine whether the mitigating factors — his troubled life, history of abuse and low intelligence — outweigh the aggravating circumstances of his crime.
Prosecutor Mike Allen told jurors it isn't even a close call.
“I would submit to you ... that the only conclusion you could reach is to recommend that Ralph Lynch be put to death,” Mr. Allen said.
While questioning some of the defense witnesses, prosecutors indicated that Mr. Lynch had been accused of molesting two other children before Mary.
The defense, however, asked the jury to consider evidence about Mr. Lynch's life as an explanation — not an excuse — for his criminal behavior.
“We're asking for you to be open to compassion, to the idea of viewing Ralph Lynch as something other than a villain,” Ms. Dieffenbach said. “It sounds like we are trying to lessen the magnitude of Mary Love's death, but we are not.
“We are trying to lessen the magnitude of the penalty.”
Prosecutors, however, have said the nature of the crime warrants nothing less than the most severe punishment.
Mr. Lynch, 48, admitted in a taped statement to police that he lured Mary into his apartment, molested her and then strangled her when she began to cry.
He told police he put her body in a rolled-up carpet and left it in a wooded area near his Colerain Township home.
When Mary was reported missing, Mr. Lynch volunteered to help search for her.
The jury convicted Mr. Lynch last week of aggravated murder, rape, kidnapping and gross abuse of a corpse.
After hearing more evidence this week, they will decide whether to recommend a death sentence, life in prison or life with a possibility of parole after 25 or 30 years.
The trial resumes today before Common Pleas Judge Robert Kraft.
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