May 24 2006 12:28PM ONN and The Columbus Dispatch are teaming up to bring Ohioans an exclusive news special on the case of Ohio death row inmate John Spirko. ONN will air the one-hour special, entitled, Deadly Convictions, Thursday, May 25 at 8pm. The Columbus Dispatch will provide a print component on the front page of its Sunday, May 28 edition. Deadly Convictions examines the legal case surrounding Spirko and explores the incidents that led to his conviction and death sentence in August, 1984 for the murder of Elgin, Ohio postal worker Betty Jane Mottinger. Spirko has recently been granted a third stay of execution so that newly discovered evidence can undergo DNA testing. This Ohio case has gained national scrutiny because it is rare for a death sentence to be handed down after a conviction based primarily on circumstantial evidence. In the program, ONN Anchor Eleanor Hayes sits down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with John Spirko on Ohios Death Row. It is his first television interview in Ohio. Hayes also interviews the inspector whose testimony was key to convicting Spirko. Hayes also joins Dispatch Reporter Alan Johnson for interviews with members of the Mottinger family who have not talked publicly about the case in more than a decade. The special contains original trial footage and extended portions of the interviews in the program will be accessible on both the ONN (www.OhioNewsNow.com) and The Columbus Dispatch (Dispatch.com) websites. Deadly Convictions is truly a must-see for Ohioans in that it presents both sides of one of the most controversial criminal cases in our states history, said Hayes. When I spoke with John Spirko, he was just as insistent upon his innocence as Janeys family was certain of his guilt. I have no doubt that viewers will find compelling the words of a man who may potentially die in just a few weeks, as well as a family whose pain remains as strong as it was nearly a quarter of a century ago. This is the type of in-depth special report that ONN can offer that you cant find anywhere else on television in Ohio, said Greg Fisher, ONN news director. This case has so many nuances and such strong emotion from all sides even after 24 years. It deserves the comprehensive look that our combined team has been able to put together and present in a compelling way for viewers to form their own opinion. For viewer convenience, ONN will re-air the special Sunday, May 28 at 8pm and 11pm, Monday, May 29 at 10pm and Thursday, June 1 at 10pm. ONN is Ohios own 24-hour cable news, weather and sports channel. ONN is a member of the Dispatch Broadcast Group, which includes WBNS-TV, WBNS-AM/FM, Ohio News Network and Radio Sound Network in Columbus, Ohio; WTHR-TV and SkyTrak Weather Network in Indianapolis, Indiana. ONN is available in 83 of Ohios 88 counties on these cable systems: Time Warner Digital, Adelphia, Insight, WOW!, Charter, GLW Broadband, Medina Cable Access, New Knoxville Cable, Bellaire TV Cable, and AT&T Broadband.
Used with permission.
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