Lawyers OK swap in McKinney case

Jermaine McKinney's defense attorney asked for permission for him to see a minister.

WARREN — Lawyers handling the capital murder charges against Jermaine McKinney exchanged motions seeking an exchange of evidence in preparation for his Sept. 5 trial in the deaths of two women.

McKinney, 25, of Youngstown, was takenfrom the Trumbull County Jail for the Wednesday hearing, held before Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. He was shackled hand and foot and guarded by three deputies. Family members of the two murder victims were in attendance.

McKinney is accused of killing Rebecca Cliburn, 45, of Warren and her mother, Wanda Rollyson, 70, in Rollyson's Newton Township home Dec. 21.

In agreement

David Toepfer, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor; and McKinney's chief counsel, Lawrence R. Smith of Akron; agreed to turn over their evidence. Smith and his co-counsel, Donald J. Malarcik of Akron, left with a box containing copies of prosecution videotapes and documents and promised to provide additional information as it becomes available.

Smith indicated that the defense has secured a mitigation expert who can be available during the penalty phase of McKinney's trial if that should become necessary. A mitigation expert is used to indicate mitigating factors that should be considered in the penalty phase of a case.

Melarcik said that he has been the defense counsel on about 15 homicide cases in the past 13 years and that Smith has worked on many more homicide cases than that.

Minister and library

Smith asked Judge McKay whether McKinney could be granted visits from a minister and whether he could be granted access to the law library next door to the jail.

McKay asked deputies in the courtroom and was instructed that generally inmates were allowed visits from a minister once the minister was on an approved list. Judge McKay said if McKinney didn't get the visits from the minister and law library he sought, the issues could be raised again at his next pretrial hearing March 1.