Jason Getsy to face death by lethal injection at 10 a.m. today

LUCASVILLE — Jason Getsy was in good spirits Monday, visiting friends and family and eating a final special meal before his scheduled execution.

The 33-year-old man, convicted in the murder of a Hubbard woman in 1995, will face death by lethal injection about 10 a.m. today at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near here.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Getsy’s final appeal late Monday. His lawyers had said they wanted to challenge Ohio’s lethal-injection system as unconstitutionally cruel. Lower courts rejected the request, saying it was filed too late.

Getsy was convicted in the aggravated murder of Ann R. Serafino and the attempted murder of her son, Charles Serafino. Getsy and two other men were hired to kill Charles Serafino by another individual over a business disagreement. Serafino, though shot in the face at point-blank range, survived.

The state parole board recommended clemency in the case, because Getsy was the only one of four co-defendants, including ringleader John Santine, to get the death penalty. But Gov. Ted Strickland rejected a sentence commutation late last week.

Getsy arrived at the prison death house late Monday morning and was examined by medical and mental-health staff. Julie Walburn, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said he was in good humor and respectful to prison personnel during the process.

“He has been writing, reading the Bible, speaking on the phone to one set of friends,” Walburn said during an afternoon press briefing at the prison.

Getsy was allowed to take a number of personal items into his cell with him, including a Bible, address book, dictionary, a photo album, a blanket, various toiletries and one package of Rolaids, Walburn said.

He was allowed a special meal Monday afternoon that included a ribeye steak, cooked medium rare with A-1 sauce on the side, hot barbecued chicken wings and onion rings with ketchup. The meal included fried mushrooms with marinara sauce, a chef salad with ranch dressing, pecan pie with vanilla ice cream and two types of soda pop.

For several hours Monday evening, Getsy was allowed contact meetings with friends and family. He has provided a list of 31 potential visitors to staff, and eight had given verbal confirmations as of late afternoon that they planned to visit.

This morning, he will be served the standard prison-issue breakfast of the day and can meet with friends and family, a minister and legal counsel in cell-front visits.

An uncle and an aunt, Ron Manes and Angela Manes, and friends Saundra and Henry Cardillo will serve as witnesses on Getsy’s behalf. Henry Cardillo is Getsy’s spiritual adviser, Walburn said.

Chuck Serafino, his sister, Nancy, and a niece of the murder victim, Sue Cargangaia, will witness on behalf of the victims.

mkovac@dixcom.com