Convicted killer John Gillard dies in prison; Canton man on death row since 1985
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A convicted killer from Stark County has died in prison after more than 36 years on Ohio's death row.
John Grant Gillard had been incarcerated since 1985, most recently at the Chillicothe Correctional Institute.
An Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed Gillard's death but provided no other information or details.
Gillard, who would have turned 78 on Saturday, was convicted in 1985 of fatally shooting two people and trying to kill a third at a Canton house party on New Year's Eve.
More:Death row cases drag on for family of victims
The state's last execution was July 18, 2018, under then-Gov. John Kasich, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
According to the Attorney General Office's 2021 capital crimes annual report, there has been no meaningful legal activity on Gillard's case since 2016.
Gillard was not listed on the state's 2023-2026 execution schedules.
New Year's Eve party turns deadly in 1985
According to court appeals filed in the case:
On Dec. 31, 1984, there was a New Year's Eve party at a home on Kennet Court NW in Canton. Among the guests were Ronnie Postlethwaite, Denise Maxwell, Leroy Ensign, and Gillard's brother. During the party, there was a fight between Ensign and Gillard's brother and the brother left.
John Gillard was convicted of going to the house hours later and killing Ensign and Maxwell and wounding Postlethwaite.
A police officer who arrived at the scene asked Postlethwaite who had shot him. Postlethwaite said, "Dirty John.... Dirty John Gillard."
Gillard was later arrested in West Virginia, where witnesses told police he had his hair cut and was calling himself "Butch Johnson."
He was convicted in Stark County Common Pleas Court of aggravated murder, attempted murder and other charges and sentenced to death.
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This article originally appeared on The Independent: John Gillard, convicted of killing two people, dies on death row
