The Supreme Court of Ohio Thursday unanimously upheld the death sentence for Christopher Whitaker, the man convicted of killing 14-year-old Alianna DeFreeze in the winter of 2017. Writing for the Court, Justice Patrick F. Fischer graphically recounted Whitaker’s rape, torture, and murder of the Cleveland teen, which Whitaker himself admitted to shortly after his arrest. The opinion found that while Whitaker does suffer from mental health problems, he was still in control of his actions at the time of his crimes. Whitaker’s claims of “insufficient evidence” were also dismissed: “Whitaker presented substantial mitigating evidence that is entitled to considerable weight. That said, Whitaker raped and murdered 14-year-old [Alianna] in a vacant house. He then fled the scene and was arrested only after DNA evidence identified him as the perpetrator. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt.” Source: wkyc
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