Arron Lawson was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a quadruple murder. According to court documents Arron Lawson would murder Devin Holston, 8; his mother, Stacey Holston, 24; her mother and Lawson’s aunt, Tammie McGuire, 43; and Tammie’s husband, Donald McGuire, 50. Police believe the reason behind the quadruple murder was that Stacey Holston had recently broken up with him. Arron Lawson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.
Arron Lawson 2021 Information
Number A756426
DOB 04/30/1994
Gender Male Race White
Admission Date 03/01/2019
Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution
Status INCARCERATED
Arron Lawson More News
The three-judge panel has sentenced 24-year-old Arron Lawson to death for the 2017 murders of Stacey Holsten, her 8-year-old son Devin, Tammie McGuire, and Don McGuire.
Lawson faced a charge of aggravated murder for each of his victims.
On top of the 4 sentences of death he received on Thursday afternoon, Lawson was also sentenced to 11 years for attempted murder, 11 years for aggravated burglary, 12 months for abuse of a corpse, 11 years for kidnapping, 3 years for tampering with evidence, 18 months for theft of a motorvehicle, and 3 years for failure to comply with orders from law enforcement for a total of 59.5 years behind bars for those additional charges.
Lawson will also have to register as a child victim offender for the kidnapping charge.
13 News spoke to Lawson’s attorney, Kirk McVay, after the sentencing.
“It’s just hard to know someone’s life was placed in my hands and I was not able to succeed,” said McVay.
McVay tells 13 News that appeals in cases like Lawson’s are automatic.
Lawson’s case marks the first time anyone has been sentenced to death in the State of Ohio since the 1960s.
All three judges had to agree unanimously to sentence Lawson to death.
Arron Lawson Other News
Deliberations are currently underway in the murder trial of Arron Lawson after closing arguments were made Thursday morning.
It is the brutal crime that has shocked the moral conscience of this community and maybe… just maybe, the community will now be able to begin the healing process once the judges come back with a sentence for Arron Lawson.
The three judge panel overseeing Lawson’s case continues to deliberate on whether or not they will sentence Lawson to death for the aggravated murders of Stacey Jackson, Devin Holsten, Tammie McGuire and Don McGuire.
Deliberations started at 10:36 a.m. Thursday morning.
The prosecution hopes death is the sentence the three judge panel gives Lawson for each of the four counts of aggravated murder he has pleaded guilty, and has been found guilty, of committing.
This morning the defense argued that Lawson was remorseful when he turned himself in without any incident.
The defense said that Lawson confessed to everything he did very shortly after being taken into custody, and even gave investigators answers to questions they weren’t asking.
The defense argued, too, that Lawson did not have any support from his family or had any possible role models in his life.
The defense did say that Lawson’s mother loved him, but asked the court if love itself was enough.
On the other hand, Lawrence County Prosecutor Brigham Anderson talked about how Lawson did have a caring family, citing that Lawson’s mother, although mentally ill, sought out treatment for Lawson.
That treatment included help from mental health professionals.
Prosecutor Anderson argued that Lawson was not abandoned, but was instead supported all of his life by his father, his stepbrothers, and even his mother throughout the week at his trial.
“This was revenge for his rejection. Stacey rejected him in some way,” said Prosecutor Anderson. “Justice for Stacey is a sentence of death. Justice for Devin is a sentence of death. Justice for Tammie is a sentence of death. Justice for Don is a sentence of death,” Prosecutor Anderson said passionately.
Deliberations are still underway, but the three judges are expected to make a ruling today.
In order for Lawson to receive the death penalty, all three judges on the panel must agree unanimously on that sentence.
