Death sentence rejected for teen who killed Kent St student
December 17, 2020 GMT
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the death sentence for a man who fatally shot a Kent State University student during a robbery, citing the killer’s youth at the time and his history of substance abuse and mental health issues.
Death row inmate Damantae Graham was sentenced to die for killing 18-year-old Nick Massa in February 2016 at an off-campus apartment. Graham, then 19, and two 17-year-old codefendants went to the apartment to steal drugs and money from the apartment’s residents, according to court records. A fourth codefendant stayed outside in a vehicle.
By Tom Moore
Dec 17, 2020
(Columbus) - A judge in Portage County will have to re-sentence a 23-year-old who was convicted on charges of aggravated murder in the death of a Kent State University student during a robbery on Super Bowl Sunday in 2016.
The Ohio Supreme Court did not change the conviction of Damantae Graham, but did overturn his death penalty sentence, saying it was disproportionate and excessive because of factors including his age, background, and mental health.
Graham was 19 at the time he and two 17-year-olds were involved in the robbery robbed a friend of Nicholas Massa at an apartment in Kent. Massa was shot dead during the robbery.
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