Ohio judge sentences convicted 'Craigslist' killer to death

By Kim Palmer

AKRON, Ohio (Reuters) - An Ohio judge sentenced Richard Beasley to death on Thursday for the murder of three down-on-their-luck men who responded to an ad on the Craigslist website for a non-existent job.

After Summit County Common Pleas Judge Lynne Callahan imposed the sentence, Beasley, 53, told her he believed the convictions would be reversed and he would be found innocent.

"I want to make sure you understand: I have killed nobody," said Beasley, who was wearing prison red and white stripes and sitting in a wheelchair.

Beasley was convicted in March of kidnapping and killing David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Virginia; Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, Ohio.

He also was convicted of the attempted murder of Scott Davis, 49, a South Carolina man who answered a Craigslist ad and was shot in the arm while escaping after meeting Beasley and a teenage accomplice, Brogan Rafferty.

Jurors had unanimously recommended that Beasley be sentenced to death. Under Ohio law, the judge had the option of imposing the death penalty or sentencing him to life in prison.

(Reporting by Kim Palmer; Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Scott Malone and Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-judge-sentences-convicted-craigslist-killer-death-142010846.html

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