The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Published Tuesday, June 6, 2000

HUBBARD TOWNSHIP

Burrows escapes death penalty
* * *
2 life terms without parolerecommended
* * *
CONVICTED KILLER ASKS FOR TIME TO BECOME CHEF

By Sherris Moreira-Byers
Herald Staff Writer

Sherris Moreira-Byers/Herald

Scott Burrows, 19, of 3447 Broadway Ave. S.E., Hubbard Township, pleads for his life during the penalty of his murder trial.

Scott Burrows pleaded with jurors Monday to spare his life so that he could one day reach his goal of becoming a chef.

And his father, his aunt, a cousin and the grandparents of his 14-month-old son spoke to jurors on the convicted killer’s behalf.

By 10 p.m., jurors had decided the 19-year-old’s punishment for the Dec. 15 stabbing deaths of his elderly Hubbard Township neighbors, Charles and Dorothy London. Jurors recommended two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Those same jurors found him guilty last week of two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping, aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery.

Standing behind a podium in Judge Andrew Logan’s Trumbull County courtroom, Burrows never claimed he didn’t kill the Londons. “Yes, I can admit I’ve made mistakes in life, but we all do, and as we make mistakes we also learn from our mistakes.

“I just got caught up in some bad situations, and I’ve made some wrong decisions in life, but like I said before, we all have and we all will,” he said.

He told jurors he had five goals in life: having a son, meeting his father, getting his driver’s license, having a closer relationship with God and going to culinary school to become a chef. Burrows claimed he had achieved four of the five goals, but “I never finished my last goal of becoming a chef, but I still have a chance. ... Give me a chance to become a chef, that’s all I ask.”

Burrows also asked the jury, the prosecution and the London family to forgive him and thanked God for “helping me through this.”

Before Burrows made his statement, his father spoke to the jury. “I spent all these years trying to find him,” said Mark Burrows, 42, of Indiana. “It wouldn’t be the easiest thing to visit him behind bars, but at least I could see him.”

He explained that his ex-wife, Terry, had left him several times with other men, taking the kids each time. She finally left for good when Burrows was 5 years old and father and son did not reconnect until about a year and a half ago, he said.

Burrows’ aunt, Dorothea Hoagland, and his cousin, Shannon Wolfe, both of Maryland, testified that Burrows was neglected at a young age.

“He stayed in a car seat all day. I tried to feed him solid food, but he couldn’t take formula or food,” Mrs. Hoagland said, adding she contacted child services when Burrows was 9 months old and then lost contact with him.

“He looked like a concentration camp kid. He couldn’t raise his head. He was always filthy,” Ms. Wolfe said.

Forensic psychologist, Sandra MacPherson of Cleveland, testified that Burrows has anti-social and conduct disorder traits but “doesn’t suffer from any mental disease or disorder.” She described him as “borderline” mentally retarded.

“What Scott has done is wrong,” said Cynthia Dean of Florida, the grandmother of Burrows’ young son, Matthew, who was in the courtroom. “But the Scott I know that’s in my heart is a different Scott,” she said.

Public defenders Jim Lewis and Anthony Consoldane re-emphasized Burrows’ poor upbringing in their closing arguments.

“Christ has taught compassion, not revenge,” Consoldane said. “Basically the death penalty is revenge.”

County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said in his closing statement that Burrows “mentioned God repeatedly, but he swore under oath to God that he didn’t do anything, in fact left church practice to kill those senior citizens.

“I don’t want his forgiveness. We don’t apologize for what we did ... This is man’s law. This is man’s justice.”

“The Londons had a right to live and to enjoy their four children and grandchildren. If this case doesn’t warrant the death penalty, what case does?” Watkins concluded.

Logan is to sentence Burrows at 1 p.m. Wednesday. He is expected to follow the jury’s recommendation, but he could sentence him to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 30 years.

Burrows’ friend, Mark Worley, 21, of Youngstown, was also charged in the slayings and is to be tried in September.

Back to TOP // Herald Local news // Local news headlines // Herald Home page

Questions/comments: online@sharon-herald.com
For info about advertising on our site or Web-site creation: advertising@sharon-herald.com

012700