Lesko is in State Correctional Institution Graterford, where he also is serving life sentences for 2 of the other murders. Travaglia, also 40, also was convicted of 1st-degree murder in Miller's death, and is awaiting his 2nd sentencing hearing, a procedure that is conducted much like a trial before a jury. Hamilton County is known throughout the state for its no-nonsense stance on crime and punishment. The cops are tough. The county prosecutor's office is tough.
Juries are tough.
And nowhere is this hard-nosed attitude more apparent than in the use of the death penalty. Our tenacity in going after someone indicted on that type of crime is legendary in the state. Under his direction, Hamilton County put 20 men on death row between 1992 and 1998. But Mr. Deters didn't establish the trend. He was just picking up where his predecessors, Arthur Ney Jr. and Simon Leis Jr., left off.