The Columbus Dispatch [A Pro Death Penalty Newspaper] Death Row Inmate May Receive Fourth Reprieve Thursday, June 08, 2006 Alan Johnson THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH John G. Spirko Jr., whose execution has been postponed three times by Gov. Bob Taft, may avoid his July 19 lethal injection by getting a fourth reprieve. Kim Norris, spokeswoman for Attorney General Jim Petro, said yesterday it’s "very likely we will be asking for another extension." John G. Spirko Jr., who turns 60 next week, is awaiting execution in the 1982 murder of a woman in northwestern Ohio. She said additional time is needed to conduct DNA testing requested by Spirko’s attorneys on "numerous items." When Petro will ask Taft to grant the delay, and the length of the extension, are uncertain, Norris said. Taft has granted three reprieves for Spirko, whose original execution date was Sept. 19, 2005. Based on requests from Petro, Taft approved two delays of 60 days and, most recently, a third delay of six months. Spirko, who turns 60 next week, was convicted and sentenced to death for the Aug. 9, 1982, abduction and murder of Betty Jane Mottinger, 48, the postmistress in Elgin in northwestern Ohio. While courts at all levels have upheld his conviction and death sentence, Spirko and his attorneys say he is not guilty and that the evidence against him was thin or nonexistent. They asked the state to conduct extensive DNA testing on numerous items collected from the farm field where Mottinger’s shrouded body was found six weeks after her abduction. State prosecutors said they are confident the verdict against Spirko is correct. Norris said the DNA tests have taken longer than expected to complete, in part because they are complicated scientific procedures. However, Spirko’s attorneys also submitted two supplemental requests for items to be tested. Further, state officials have had to obtain DNA samples from several individuals to provide comparisons for test results, she said. A status letter on the testing was sent recently to Spirko’s attorneys, Thomas Hill and Alvin Dunn of Washington, D.C. ajohnson@dispatch.com Email: Tracy Spirko, John Spirko's Wife