by Phil Keren
Editor
A man convicted of kidnapping, raping and attempting to kill a Cuyahoga Falls woman 25 years ago will have a parole hearing Sept. 1.
Samuel Herring was found guilty in June 1984 of kidnapping, rape, aggravated robbery, felonious sexual penetration, felonious assault, aggravated arson, and attempt to commit murder in connection with an attack on Phyllis Cottle on March 20, 1984. The attack also left Cottle blind.
After being found guilty, Herring was sentenced by then-Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge James P. Winter to 169 to 290 years in prison. He is incarcerated in the Toledo Correctional Institution.
Herring last had a parole hearing in 2004, and the Ohio Parole Board had, at that time, voted unanimously to continue his prison sentence until 2014.
Cynthia Mausser, who chairs the Ohio Parole Board, said Herring is part of a group of inmates whose cases will be heard again as the result of a court order issued by the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in January. That order followed a class-action lawsuit filed by the Office of the Ohio Public Defender against the Ohio Adult Parole Authority in 2006.
Herring will meet with an Ohio Parole Board member Sept. 1, said JoEllen Culp, a spokesperson with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. They will discuss Herring's case and the charges he was convicted of, his behavior while in prison, his future plans if he is released from prison, and any programs he has participated in while incarcerated.
After that meeting, Culp said the parole board member can recommend: continuing Herring's prison sentence for a certain number of years; a prison release date for Herring; or a Central Office Board Review of the case.
The last option means that a majority of the parole board would review the case, and according to Culp, they can "continue the individual in prison or recommend a release date." She added it "could take anywhere from two to three months" for the parole board to make a decision.
Culp added that, due to the nature of Herring's crimes, "unless the inmate is continued in prison at the panel level hearing, the case would automatically be referred to the Central Office Board Review."
Cottle said she had a "very positive" victim conference with a parole board member on Aug. 19 in Cleveland.
The board member is "very well aware of the public and their outcry [over Herring's potential release]," she said.
If Herring's sentence is continued, Cottle said the parole board member told her she would ask the board to delay the next hearing for Herring until 2019.
While acknowledging there is a "99 percent" chance that Herring won't be released, Cottle said it's that "slight little possibility [that he will be released] that scares the daylights out of me."
Cottle said petitions opposing parole for Herring are "still being circulated" by "a lot" of people.
Culp noted people can still send correspondence to the Ohio Parole Board about the parole hearing.
Letters can be sent to the Ohio Parole Board, 770 W. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43222. An e-mail correspondence can be sent to DRC.Victim.Services@odrc.state.oh.us. Cottle said letters should include Herring's inmate number of A-180009.
Culp also said that people should capitalize "DRC," as well as the "V" in Victim, and the "S" in Services.
As of Aug. 26, Culp said the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction had received "two letters in support of inmate Herring and 3,786 letters, signatures, e-mails, etc. in opposition of release."
E-mail: pkeren@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-686-3940