The Simons, who recently spoke exclusively with the Journal-News, said Mitchell’s trial attorney indicated after talking with an assistant prosecutor and the judge that there was an agreement that if the teen pleaded guilty, he would get three-years in prison or maybe community control.
That’s not what happened.
“I could just feel my body start to fall … I thought what happened,” Sharon Simon said, recalling the moment her son was sentenced. “I couldn’t breath; I had to get out of there.
“My stand was I am not willing to accept three years of prison when I need my son to have some type of psychological treatment,” she said.
The couple said they want answers for how this could happen, and they are asking the state’s highest court to review the case.
In October 2013, the then-16-year-old Mitchell Simon went into the basement of the family home, found rope left over from his Boy Scout days, and used it to tie his parents’ bedroom doors shut. He then retrieved a gas can from the garage and lit fires outside both rooms. Mitchell Simon was allegedly angry with his parents over his laptop being taken away, according to detectives.
Sharon Simon said she was able to read the police reports, and during questioning, Mitchell continually told deputies that he did not intend to kill his parents.
“It was continually overlooked until he finally just said whatever,” Sharon Simon said.
Perry Simon said his son was “strong armed” by detectives.
But after consulting with Sharon Simon’s brother, an attorney in another state, and being told by another person at the law office that the alleged proposal of three years in prison was a “gift,” the parents told Mitchell’s attorney to meet with their son because it ultimately was his decision. But they suggested their son accept the plea.
The Simons said on the day of the sentencing, they believed their son would be given a three-year sentence, and they had been told that the prosecution would not oppose judicial release after six months.
The Simons said they were later told the plea agreement was a “gentleman’s agreement,” and there was no sentence stated on the plea their son signed.
“I thought we had something in writing, and you find out it was open ended,” Perry Simon said. “My jaw dropped.”
He added: “Mitchell also did not have a chance to read the plea. All he knew is he had to answer the judge’s questions.”
Mitchell Simon’s conviction was appealed with is attorney arguing that Ohio’s law requiring him to be tried as an adult is unconstitutional, and that the trial court’s sentence was improper because he committed the crimes with the same actions, and they were allied offenses.
The 12th District Court of Appeals found Simon’s conviction in adult court constitutional, but agreed with his argument about the allied offenses. The case was returned to Butler County Common Pleas Judge Craig Hedric for re-sentencing in April 2015. At that time, new attorneys also filed a motion to withdraw the teen’s guilty plea.
Hedric denied the motion without a hearing and re-sentenced Mitchell to nine years. That re-sentencing was also appealed and upheld by the 12th District Court of Appeals.
Josh Engel, Mitchell Simon’s current attorney, said they are going to ask the Ohio Supreme Court to take the case, and they are hopeful to get a hearing about the issues of the plea agreement.
“My thought is can we have a hearing so that we don’t have to speculate what happened,” Engel said “We can air this in open court and find out what the truth was, and maybe it really wasn’t an injustice. Maybe it really was Mitchell who misunderstood, and he had an obligation to understand. And that’s on him. But we don’t know the answer. My strong feeling is if there has been an injustice, we should at least take the time to get to the bottom of it.”
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser and Brad Kraemer, Mitchell Simon’s first attorney, had no comment.
“It would be inappropriate for me to comment on an ongoing case,” Gmoser said, but he added sentencing is a judicial function, not a prosecutorial function
Hedric also said it was inappropriate for him to comment on the case but said he does not discuss his sentences with anyone.
“That is not the way I do business,” Hedric said.
The Simons say their son, now an adult, is doing well, but has been victimized in prison. He was assaulted and suffered a chipped wisdom tooth.
Mitchell Simon received his high school degree in prison and is an aspiring engineer currently taking computer training.
The Simons said Mitchell’s actions in October 2013 were a cry for help. They had tried to have him talk to a psychologist before the incident, but he refused. After his arrest, he couldn’t refuse.
“He has told me, we took away his stuff and he wanted to take away ours,” Perry Simon said, adding Mitchell wanted them to watch the house burn.
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