Arron Lawson was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a quadruple murder
According to court documents Arron Lawson would go over to the home of his ex girlfriend and would murder Devin Holston, 8; his mother, Stacey Holston, 24; her mother and Lawson’s aunt, Tammie McGuire, 43; and Tammie’s husband, Donald McGuire, 50.
Arron Lawson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Number
A756426
DOB
04/30/1994
Gender
Male
Race
White
Admission Date
03/01/2019
Institution
Chillicothe Correctional Institution
Status
INCARCERATED
Arron Lawson Case
The Ohio Supreme Court today affirmed the conviction and death sentence of a Lawrence County man who confessed to killing his cousin, her 8-year-old son, and two other family members.
A divided Supreme Court affirmed the death penalties issued to Arron Lawson for the 2017 murders of Stacey Holston; her son, identified as D.H.; her mother, Tammie McGuire; and her mother’s husband, Donald McGuire. On the eve of his trial, Lawson wavered between confessing and standing trial before ultimately pleading guilty and allowing a three-judge panel to sentence him to death.
Writing for the Court majority, Justice Sharon L. Kennedy noted that a medical expert testified that Lawson had been diagnosed with several mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, which presented “significant mitigating factors” when considering whether the death sentences were appropriate.
“But this is also a case in which the defendant slaughtered four people, including the callous slaying of an 8-year-old child,” she wrote. “With respect to each of the four aggravated murders before us, we find that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Justices Patrick F. Fischer, R. Patrick DeWine, and Michael P. Donnelly joined Justice Kennedy’s opinion.