While a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge initially ordered consecutive prison terms for a state prisoner who fatally beat the “Angel of Death” Donald Harvey, the judge later amended the order, as agreed upon by prosecution and defense attorneys.
James Elliott, 45, previously of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, was sentenced by Judge Myron Duhart last month to life in prison for aggravated murder after he admitted to beating Harvey in his prison cell in 2017 while they were both incarcerated at the Toledo Correctional Institute.
Harvey was convicted of 37 murders in 1987 while working as a nursing assistant at southwest Ohio and Kentucky hospitals.
Elliott was serving time at the Toledo facility for burglary and assault. He told Judge Duhart he had 24 years left on his sentence.
Judge Duhart ordered Elliott serve a term of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years served. Initially, the judge ordered the sentence be run consecutively — or one after each other — to his burglary and assault sentence, as Judge Duhart told Elliott he would not have the possibility of parole until the age of 94.
Near the end of the combined plea and sentencing hearing, assistant county prosecutor Drew Wood and defense attorney Ronnie Wingate asked to speak with Judge Duhart at the bench. However, a summary of the conversation was not placed on the court’s record.
After dismissing the remaining charge, Judge Duhart ordered that the sentences in the two cases be served concurrently, making Elliott approximately 70 years old at the time he is eligible for parole. His first hearing before the parole board is scheduled in April, 2044, according to the Ohio Department of Corrections.
Mr. Wingate said as part of the plea negotiations, Elliott’s aggravated murder sentence would run concurrent — or at the same time — with his other charges.
Prosecutors say Elliott targeted Harvey because he was receiving different meals at the prison because of his religion. However, Elliott’s mother said her son killed Harvey because he was bragging about harming the elderly.
First Published October 20, 2019, 11:04 p.m.
