TOLEDO (OH)
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Friday, May 12, 2006
James Ewinger
Plain Dealer Reporter
Toledo- A Lucas County jury on Thursday convicted a Roman Catholic priest for the slaying he's lived with for 26 years, finding that the Rev. Gerald Robinson murdered Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in 1980.
Robinson stood as Common Pleas Judge Thomas Osowik read the verdict about 11:30 a.m., but he displayed the same cool detachment he had throughout the nearly monthlong trial.
Osowik immediately sentenced Robinson to the mandatory term of 15 years to life in prison. Armed bailiffs whisked the priest - his hands cuffed behind his back - out of the courtroom just four minutes after the judge read the verdict. As he entered the hallway and headed for the county jail, applause greeted the priest.
"It isn't something to applaud. It's a homicide case," Assistant County Prosecutor Dean Mandros said later at a news conference. "We were trying to hold the person accountable. I don't see it as a reason to celebrate. We didn't go back to the office high-fiving."