LIFE SENTENCE AFFIRMED FOR CONVICTED MURDERER On January 22, 2014, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Appellate District of Athens County, Ohio, affirmed Mahat Osman’s sentence of life in prison without parole eligibility after twenty-eight (28) years. On August 12, 2009, after an eight (8) day jury trial, a jury of his peers found Osman guilty of Count One, Aggravated Robbery, a felony of the first degree with a gun specification and Complicity to Aggravated Robbery, a felony of the first degree with a gun specification; Count Two, Aggravated Robbery, a felony of the first degree with a gun specification, and Complicity to Aggravated Robbery, a felony of the first degree with a gun specification; Count Three, Murder, a special felony, and Complicity to Murder, both with a gun specification. The Court sentenced Osman to a total of twenty-eight (28) years to life in prison on all charges. Osman appealed his conviction with the Court of Appeal in 2009 where the Court affirmed the conviction, but remanded the case for the trial court to decide whether Felony Murder and Aggravated Robbery were allied offenses. The State strenuously argued that the two offenses were committed separately, involving two different victims, and should not merge. On January 22, 2014, the Court of Appeals agreed that the two offenses were committed separately and affirmed Osman’s twenty-eight (28) years to life sentence in prison. Prosecutor Blackburn states that “on July 11, 2013, Osman filed an appeal with the Fourth District Court of Appeals in an attempt to merge his Aggravated Robbery and Felony Murder counts. My Office is exceptionally pleased with the outcome of the case, and hopes that the victim’s mother can now find peace of mind knowing that his life sentence has been affirmed.” The Court of Appeals found that the two crimes had separate victims, were committed separately, and were of dissimilar import. The Court overruled Osman’s sole assignment of error and affirmed the trial court’s decision.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 20:15:01 +0000
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