WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins sent letters to the Ohio Parole Board opposing the release of two convicted murderers, one of whom has served 53 years in prison.
Charles Crenshaw has a parole hearing In June. He has been incarcerated on a murder conviction since 1969.
Crenshaw was convicted of murdering Willam Zelch during what was described as a road rage incident on a road in Hubbard Township. Police said the killing was part of a crime spree that Crenshaw was involved in and that Zelch was murdered for “no reason.”
Watkins said that Crenshaw has had violations while in prison and considers him a “moderate” risk to society.
He noted that Crenshaw has yet to complete his victim awareness program and that he is “short on a moral compass” and that his prison history would suggest that “the public is safer with him inside,” adding that it would be difficult for Crenshaw to adapt in today’s world if he were released.
Watkins is also opposing the release of John Lysikowski who was also convicted of murder in Trumbull County. He has served 35 years of a life sentence.
Lysikowski was convicted in the 1987 stabbing death of Randy Nicholson in Weathersfield. Watkins said Lysikowsko was released on parole in 2007 and continued to commit crimes, “nearly killing a man,” and that he is “prone to violence.”