The Ohio Adult Parole Authority has decided that three prison inmates convicted of violent crimes in the Valley will have to wait longer before they can again ask to be released.

After hearings held earlier this year, the parole board denied release requests from Rosalie Grant, Tommy Williams, and Michael Kerns.  Mahoning County Prosecutor Gina DeGenova opposed the parole of all three inmates.

Rosalie Grant

Rosalie Grant, who made news headlines in the 1980s when she was accused of killing her own children, will not be eligible for parole for another five years.

Grant was convicted on two counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated arson in 1983.

Grant's two sons died in a house fire in their home that was intentionally set by the use of lighter fluid spread on the floor and in the cold air return of the boys' bedrooms.

Several weeks prior to the fire, Grant secured life insurance policies for her sons, but not for her daughter who was staying with her grandmother at the time, meaning the only children who died had life insurance policies secured.

Grant was supposed to receive the death penalty, but in 1991, this was changed to life in prison with parole eligibility.

Parole authorities found reason to believe that Grant will take part in further criminal activities if released now.

Tommy Williams

In the case of convicted murderer Tommy Williams, parole officials decided that the “unique factors” of his crime significantly outweigh rehabilitation efforts and his release would create a risk to public safety.

In 2000, Williams was sentenced to 15 years to life for murder and three years for a firearm specification for an incident at a bar on East Midlothian Boulevard resulting in the shooting death of Michael Booker.

Williams won’t have another parole hearing until 2025.

Michael Kerns

DeGenova also opposed the parole of Michael Kerns, who is serving a sentence of more than 90 years for raping an Austintown student and the attempted abduction of another female victim in 1990.

Investigators say Kerns attempted to abduct a female victim early in the morning on March 7, 1990. When this failed, he offered a female Austintown Fitch student a ride to school, but instead of taking her to school, Kerns took her back to his apartment where he raped her eight times, threatening to hurt her if she told anyone.

According to DeGenova, when Kerns was granted parole for previous crimes, he continued to commit serious crimes.

"Kerns is clearly a menace to society. He is dangerous and his release will cause an undue risk to the public," DeGenova wrote in her letter to parole authorities.

Parole authorities decided that Kerns has to wait another three years before his next hearing, concluding that he will take part in further criminal activities, and the unique factors of his crime significantly outweigh rehabilitation efforts, adding that his release would create a risk to public safety.