Attorneys for Ohio father accused of killing his 3 young sons ask for death penalty to be dropped

CLERMONT COUNTY — The attorneys for the Clermont County man accused of shooting and killing his three young sons last year are asking for the death penalty to be dropped against him.

Chad Doerman’s attorneys filed a motion asking Clermont County Judge Richard Ferenc to find Doerman ineligible to receive the death penalty, according to our news partners at WCPO in Cincinnati. In the filing, they cited “serious mental illness at time of offense.”

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An initial hearing on the motion is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

The motion also states that two experts have already examined Doerman and found that he suffered from a severe mental illness on the day of the shooting. As WCPO reported, those experts did not agree on whether Doerman knew what he was doing was wrong that day.

As News Center 7 previously reported, Doerman faces 21 separate counts in connection to the actions that took place on June 15, including nine counts of aggravated murder. He’s since changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

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He’s been accused of shooting his three sons; 3-year-old Chase, 4-year-old Hunter, and 7-year-old Clayton, execution-style, killing them all.

He allegedly confessed to the killings, but the judge threw out his confession last month after ruling that Doerman’s Miranda Rights were violated.

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