Amnesty International, USA, June 15, 2018.
The Ohio parole board held a clemency hearing on 24 May 2018, at which Robert Van Hook’s lawyers gave details of his abusive and dysfunctional childhood and its impact on him. A psychiatrist/psychologist testified that he presented a classic case of post-traumatic stress disorder which, with borderline personality disorder, rose to the level of a major mental disability. The board voted against clemency, over the dissent of one of its members whowrote that “despite the heinous nature of the crime”, the prisoner’s childhood and its effects on him “serve to mitigate the offense”. The execution is set for 18 July. The governor should reject the board’s denial of clemency.
