Strickland grants clemency to Chauncey man

Among the people convicted of crimes statewide who were recently granted clemency by Gov. Ted Strickland is Danny Lyons of Chauncey, whom Strickland granted a full pardon for burglary and forgery charges dating from the late 1960s.

"œIt's been an awful long time in coming, but I finally got it," the 62-year-old Lyons said Tuesday. He noted that he had applied for clemency during the Taft administration.

This week Strickland ruled on more than 300 clemency requests, among more than 700 dating from the Gov. Taft years.

He granted clemency in 78 out of 296 criminal cases he considered, according to the Columbus Dispatch, including commuting the life sentence of Willie Knighten, Jr., convicted of murder in Lucas County in 1996. Strickland said he believes Knighten is innocent.

Lyons, who has run for office in Chauncey, has in the past faced legal challenges to his candidacies based on his 30-year-old felony conviction, though he said the Athens County Board of Elections has assured him he has a right to serve in elected office.

He did, however, quit his seat on the village council this year, reportedly because he was tired of having his criminal record raised by political opponents.

He said he has already gotten calls from the offices of state Sen. Jimmy Stewart, R-Albany, and state Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Athens.

Lyons said his original offenses, which occurred in Franklin County, were that he "broke in a couple places and wrote (forged) checks." However, he said, after serving a brief stretch in prison, he has reformed and never re-offended, marrying and raising four children.

"I did get out of the joint in the 1970s, and I turned my life completely around," he said.