Shawn Grate Addresses the Court Before His Death Sentence, 2018

In his first words to the court, Ohio serial killer Shawn Grate asked the families of his victims to forgive him "someday" moments before he was sentenced to death.

Subject

Shawn Michael Grate

Recorded

June 1, 2018

Runtime

1:26

Content warning: Refers to the murders of women and to a kidnapping.

The Statement

On the morning of June 1, 2018, before Judge Ronald P. Forsthoefel imposed sentence in Ashland County, Ohio, Shawn Grate stood between his lawyers and spoke to the court for the first time. He told the families in the courtroom that it was "a good day" for them and for him. He said he could not call himself normal but knew right from wrong, asked them to forgive him "someday", and said, "I'm sorry. I can't change nothing."

Historical Context

On September 13, 2016, police in Ashland, Ohio, were called to a vacant house on Covert Court by a woman who said she was being held captive there. Grate was arrested at the house. The bodies of two women who had been strangled, Elizabeth Griffith, 29, and Stacey Stanley, 43, were found there. In long recorded interviews with police, Grate went on to confess to killing other women in Ohio over the previous decade.

Circumstances of the Statement

Grate was charged with 23 counts. Partway through his 2018 trial he pleaded guilty to 15 of them, but not to the two aggravated murders. The jury convicted him of those on May 7, 2018, and later that month recommended death. At the sentencing hearing relatives of Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith spoke before Grate was invited to address the court. The judge then sentenced him to death on the two aggravated-murder counts and to 90 years to life on the other counts.

What the Statement Covers

Grate speaks for about a minute and a half, haltingly and partly to himself. He tells the families he hopes they can "move on from all this", says he needs to work on any "hate" and "bitterness" he has caused, asks for forgiveness, names Elizabeth and Stacey, and apologises "for all human beings to have to hear this."

What Makes the Recording Significant

Local reporters noted that this was the first time Grate had spoken in court. He had already given detailed confessions to police, but those were played to the jury, not heard from him in the courtroom. The clip shows the moment just before the death sentence was passed.

Archival Importance

Grate later pleaded guilty to three more murders, in Richland County (Rebekah Leicy and Candice Cunningham, 2019) and Marion County (Dana Lowrey, 2019). The Ohio Supreme Court upheld his convictions and death sentence in December 2020. This recording preserves his own words at the centre of the case that first brought him to justice.

Important Caveats

Grate's words are his own statement. Parts of his speech are hard to make out; uncertain words are bracketed in the transcript, including a third name after "Elizabeth, Stacey". The woman whose call led to his arrest survived and is not named.

Grate: Well, this day is a good day, mainly for all of you guys and myself. And I hope we can just move on from all this. I don't know exactly. I can't say I'm normal, but I know right from wrong. And [unclear: "mainland" in both machine passes], if I cause any hate, bitterness, and [unclear: "then all of"] any of you, I need to work on that.

Grate: I ask you to forgive me, find [it in] your heart someday. I know not today. Someday. And just move on from this life, and may justice be served today. That's most important. Elizabeth, Stacey, and [unclear name].

Grate: Thank you for all your time in this mess. I'm sorry for all human beings to have to hear this, okay? I'm sorry. I can't change nothing. [Unclear: "Believe me, I would" / "Leave me out of the woods"], not for me, but for you guys.

Grate: Thank you. ---