Wilford Berry Jr.

Crime

Berry hatched a plan to murder Charles Mitroff, his boss at a Cleveland bakery. He handed a gun to his coworker and accomplice, Anthony Lozar, while keeping a second firearm for himself. When Mitroff came back to the bakery after making deliveries, Lozar shot him in the torso. After Mitroff collapsed to the floor wounded, Berry walked up and shot him in the head.

The two men then buried Mitroff in a shallow grave near a bridge and drove off in his van. Berry got arrested in Kentucky while driving the stolen delivery van drunk, confessed to the police, and later bragged about the killing to other inmates in jail. He gave two different reasons for the murder: one was revenge because Mitroff had nearly run over Berry's sister with the van, and the other was that he did it for no particular reason. Based on his confessions and a large amount of circumstantial forensic evidence linking him to the crime, a jury convicted Berry of aggravated murder with death penalty and firearm specifications, plus aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary.

Incarceration

After his direct appeal wrapped up in 1997, Berry told the state courts he wanted to stop all further challenges to his conviction and sentence and was ready to be executed. The Ohio Public Defender, who had been required to represent Berry during his direct appeal, argued that Berry was not mentally competent to make that choice. The state of Ohio asked the Supreme Court of Ohio to hold a competency hearing, and that court ordered an evaluation of Berry's mental state.

Two psychiatrists chosen by the court diagnosed Berry with a mixed personality disorder that included schizotypal, borderline, and antisocial features, but they concluded he was competent to waive his rights. At the competency hearing, the public defender brought in two witnesses. One psychologist found Berry incompetent, saying he had schizotypal personality disorder, a rigid way of thinking, a tendency toward extreme isolation and withdrawal, and a likelihood of having psychotic episodes under stress.

The other witness, a psychologist who had never examined Berry and had no opinion on his competence, gave general testimony about schizotypal personality disorder and how it relates to determining competence. On July 22, 1997, the trial judge issued an order finding that even though Berry had a mixed personality disorder with schizotypal, borderline, and antisocial features, he was competent to give up any and all further legal challenges.

Prison assault

On September 5, 1997, inmates who had taken control of Berry's cell block during a riot attacked him. They targeted Berry because they believed his "volunteer status" — his willingness to be executed — would hurt their own efforts to delay their executions.

Berry's jaw and facial bones were badly broken in the assault, requiring surgery and metal implants to repair. His right hand was heavily damaged because he used it to shield the back of his head from blows from a heavy padlock swung on a chain. He also suffered several broken ribs, bruised internal organs, and needed staples in his head.

General references

Ohio Executes Berry 'The Volunteer' Gets His Wish, Is First Executed In State Since 1963, Akron Beacon Journal, February 20, 1999. Berry Executed; First in Ohio in 36 Years; "Volunteer" Given Lethal Injection, Plain Dealer, February 20, 1999. Franklin v. Francis, 997 F. Supp. 916 (1998).

State v. Berry, 85 Ohio St. 3d 1201 (1999). State v. Berry, 72 Ohio St. 3d 354 (1995). 2005 Capital Crimes Report, Office of the Ohio Attorney General.

Ohio Executions 1999 to Present, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Court won't block execution, The Post, February 18, 1999. Thornburgh, Nathan, When a Killer Wants to Die, TIME Magazine, April 18, 2005.