Howland woman granted stay of execution for murdering husband
A former Howland woman sentenced to death for her part in a plot to murder her husband has been granted a stay of execution.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that carrying out the execution of Donna Roberts would be placed on hold until all state postconviction proceedings, including any appeals are exhausted
Attorneys for Roberts filed the motion to keep the state from carrying out her execution while she appeals her conviction and sentence for the 2001 murder of her husband.
Although the state set an August 12, 2020 execution date for Roberts, the name of the 76-year-old woman is not on the current Department of Correction and Rehabilitation execution schedule.
Roberts attorneys say the motion to stay the execution was file to “ensure no confusion”.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has been delaying death sentences in the state because pharmaceutical suppliers have been unwilling to provide drugs used for lethal injection.
Robert's latest bid to overturn her death sentence is scheduled to be heard in July before the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals.
According to prosecutors, Roberts plotted with another man, Nathaniel Jackson to kill Robert Fingerhut in Howland Township.
Both were sentenced to death for scheming to kill Fingerhut so Roberts could collect more than $500,000 in life insurance proceeds.
Prosecutors say Roberts was having an affair with Jackson before he was sent to prison for a separate offense.
Investigators say the two communicated while Jackson was in prison.
When Jackson was released on December 9, 2001, Roberts was waiting to pick him up.
Two days later, Robert Fingerhut was found dead on the kitchen floor of his home. He had been shot several times.
In addition to letters and phone records gathered as evidence, investigators say Roberts bought Jackson a mask and gloves to wear while committing the crime, even allowing him into the home where the murder occurred.
Roberts was convicted of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications, aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary.
Roberts is the only woman on Ohio's Death Row.
