He lied his way onto Death Row - John Spirko P5 episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 4, 2026 · 31 MIN

He lied his way onto Death Row - John Spirko P5

from One Minute Remaining - Stories from the inmates

In 1982, postmistress Betty Jane Mottinger was abducted from her one-room post office in Elgin, Ohio — a town of fifty people and murdered.Six weeks later, John Spirko, a career criminal with a talent for spinning stories, decided to trade invented information about her death for a deal that would keep his girlfriend out of prison. It didn't work. Instead, his web of lies contradictory, provably wrong, and completely fabricated, somehow became the centrepiece of a capital murder prosecution. No physical evidence. No connection to the victim. No connection to the crime scene. Just the words of a man who admitted he made it all up.John Spirko has been on Ohio's death row, and now serves life without parole, for over forty years. A federal judge called his conviction a foundation of sand. A governor said there was enough doubt to spare his life but not enough to free him.This is his story as told by him from his prison cell in Ohio.EARLY AND AD FREE ACCESS: for as little as $1.69 a week!Apple + HEREPatreon and find us on Facebook here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1982, postmistress Betty Jane Mottinger was abducted from her one-room post office in Elgin, Ohio — a town of fifty people and murdered.Six weeks later, John Spirko, a career criminal with a talent for spinning stories, decided to trade invented information about her death for a deal that would keep his girlfriend out of prison. It didn't work. Instead, his web of lies contradictory, provably wrong, and completely fabricated, somehow became the centrepiece of a capital murder prosecution. No physical evidence. No connection to the victim. No connection to the crime scene. Just the words of a man who admitted he made it all up.John Spirko has been on Ohio's death row, and now serves life without parole, for over forty years. A federal judge called his conviction a foundation of sand. A governor said there was enough doubt to spare his life but not enough to free him.This is his story as told by him from his prison cell in Ohio.EARLY AND AD FREE ACCESS: for as little as $1.69 a week!Apple + HEREPatreon and find us on Facebook here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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He lied his way onto Death Row - John Spirko P5

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This episode was published on March 4, 2026.

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In 1982, postmistress Betty Jane Mottinger was abducted from her one-room post office in Elgin, Ohio — a town of fifty people and murdered.Six weeks later, John Spirko, a career criminal with a talent for spinning stories, decided to trade invented...

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