The Ohio Parole Board has rejected parole for George Earl Deck, a Stark County man convicted of kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and murdering 9-year-old Glenna Rose Brammer more than 35 years ago in southeast Canton in 1987.
In a unanimous decision on April 11, the board voted 5-0 to keep Deck, 67, behind bars for at least another decade.
Back in 1989, then-Stark County Common Pleas Judge Sheila Farmer sentenced Deck to 30 years to life in prison for aggravated murder and 10 to 25 years for kidnapping, with parole eligibility after serving a minimum of 30 years. This year marked his first opportunity for parole.
“Incarcerated adult Deck has served almost 37 years for the brutal homicide of a young female victim,” the parole board stated in its written decision, released Friday. “He has taken no cognitive program but has addressed his crimogenic factors with staff in prison. Further, his institutional behavior is much improved. His release plan is undeveloped. The board concluded that the negative aspects of this case outweigh the positive factors in this case. The board determined that additional incarceration is appropriate.”
Although prosecutors sought the death penalty for Deck in 1989, a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision. Two of the 12 jurors did not support capital punishment.
The board determined that Deck posed a likely risk of re-offending if released and that granting him parole would present an undue risk to public safety.
His next parole hearing is set for February 2034, according to documents released by the board. Deck is serving his sentence at the Grafton Correctional Institution.