Appeals court rejects challenge from Wadsworth teen convicted of murder, case likely heading back to Medina

WADSWORTH — Challenges to a life sentence without parole handed to Gavon Ramsay, of Wadsworth, were rejected last week by the Ohio 9th District Court of Appeals. Ramsay, 20, received that term in January 2019 by Medina County Common Pleas Judge Joyce Kimbler for the April 2018 murder of Margaret Douglas, Ramsay's 98-year-old Wadsworth neighbor. Ramsay was sentenced on charges of murder, aggravated murder, kidnapping, gross abuse of a corpse and aggravated burglary. Last week, the 9th District Court denied three assignments of error put forth on behalf of Ramsay, two of which regarded his age and ability to reform while in prison. Judge Jennifer Hensal overruled those as well as an argument to merge Ramsay's aggravated burglary and kidnapping charges with his aggravated murder charge. With that decision handing jurisdiction of Ramsay's case back to Medina County, Prosecutor Forrest Thompson believes a local appeal will occur in the near future. "I don't have my finger on the pulse of the court schedule but I'd anticipate it would be getting back to us before the end of the year," he said. "The case could not come back to us so long as it was being appealed (in the 9th District). Even after whatever happens in Medina, he can always appeal the sentencing. He could try to take this up to the U.S. Supreme Court. I doubt very seriously the court would accept it or that (Ramsay) would attempt that." Douglas' great-niece, Patricia Leasure, said Monday she and other family members have already decided to make a return trip to Medina for any proceedings. "Yes, we will definitely be there," she said. "We absolutely will. At this point, we're not exactly sure how we feel about it. Obviously, we want to share our opinions and our voices and have a platform to spread awareness. From a legal standpoint, what we're focusing on now is amending Ohio law. There's not really a precedent for this or anything to really go by. "Let's say (Ramsay) is sentenced under the new law and it's 25 to life," Leasure added. "Then if we're successful in getting the law changed we might have to go back for resentencing again." Leasure is referring to Ohio Senate Bill 256, which went into effect in April and makes those convicted of aggravated murder as juveniles eligible for a parole hearing after serving 25 years if their offense involved the killing of one person. If two people were killed, parole eligibility will be looked at after 30 years. Ramsay was 17 when he murdered Douglas and sexually abused her body. Relatives found Douglas' body April 9, 2018, inside the closet of her Wadsworth home while performing a welfare check. It is believed Ramsay killed her in the early morning hours of April 6, breaking into the home, strangling her while wearing plastic gloves and sexually assaulting her body while photographing the act. Later that month, police found photos and videos of the crime on Ramsay's cellphone while investigating a series of local petty crimes. A case appeal in Medina would move forward under SB 256 provisions. "In 25 years, who knows what things will be like?" Thompson asked regarding legal conditions Ramsay could be facing when a prospective parole date came up. "I think Senate Bill 256 is representative of the current mindset and a political compromise. I think it's problematic and doesn't do a thing to protect the community, which is my primary goal." SB 256 also creates a new crime classification, aggravated homicide offenses, which involves the killing of three or more people and will remain eligible for a juvenile sentence of life without parole. Officials have stated that language was put in to prevent Chardon High School shooter T.J. Lane from ever being released. "How does it make sense to carve on an exception for a single individual?," Thompson said. "He killed three people. If your brain isn't developed enough to not understand you can't kill one person, you're only really held to a higher standard if you killed two more people? Where's the logic?" Thompson, Leasure, and others who've spoken out against changes would like exceptions for parole eligibility to be made based on the nature and circumstances of related crimes, not just the number of victims. "This law is just very cookie cutter," Leasure said. "There are so many factors and pieces of what happened that need to be part of the sentence and the decisions that come after that. Our focus is on going back and finding ways to amend the law, amend the specific parts to find a way to make these (crime details) always be part of the process." An appeal in the Ohio 9th District Court was filed in February 2019 with the appellate court standing by Kimbler's decision. The Ohio Supreme Court announced Dec. 31 it had dismissed an appeal attempt on Ramsay's behalf, which came after the 9th District Court decided to uphold his life sentence again in April 2020. An April U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a life sentence for Brett Jones, of Mississippi, who at age 15 murdered his grandfather after what's been characterized as an argument over Jones' girlfriend, presents another potential legal gray area. Since passage of SB 256, Leasure has helped establish the Ohio Coalition for Safety and Fairness. The group held a July news conference in front of the Ohio Statehouse, which was the final stop on a 13-event "RV Barnstorm." "There's a strong push for parole boards to be more lenient and to give more offenders parole," she said. "There's even been ideas floated to just give release if there were no behavioral issues in prison. When you look at factors like that, it makes it very disturbing that (Ramsay's crimes) won't be considered down the road. It's very disturbing. The details feel like they're being pulled away." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.