In August 2011, Anthony Edward Sowell, also known as "The Cleveland Strangler", was sentenced to death in the State of Ohio. Sowell's murders began in 2007 and continued until his arrest in 2009. Sowell's convictions include eleven counts of aggravated murder, eleven counts of abuse of a corpse, three counts of attempted murder, four counts of one count of rape, one count of attempted rape, two counts of kidnapping. and eleven counts of tampering with evidence. Sowell is currently incarcerated at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution located in Chillicothe, Ohio. Before these murders, Sowell already had a criminal record for sex crimes, and in 2008, a year after Sowell began his killing spree, law enforcement missed the opportunity to arrest him and stop the killings. All of Sowell's victims were women between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-three, and there is currently an ongoing civil lawsuit filed by the victims' families. Anthony Sowell was born on August 19, 1959. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother was Claudia Benson Garrison and his father was Thomas Sowell. Sowell's father was not present during his childhood, and Sowell lived with his mother, grandmother, half-sister, and seven cousins. Sowell never graduated from high school, and on January 24, 1978, at the age of 19, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps (Blanco, n.d.). Sowell spent seven years in the Marine Corps and received numerous awards including a Good Conduct Medal with a Service Star, a Certificate of Commendation, a Meritorious Tree and a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. Before joining the Army, Sowell got a girl pregnant and she gave birth about 8 months after enlisting. Sowell was discharged from the Marines on January 15, 1985… mid-paper… ted: “I don't like people who hurt children, especially women. Women should be our protectors, above all others. But that's not the case." (Krouse, n.p.). Family members of two of Sowell's victims have filed civil lawsuits against the Cleveland and Warrensville Heights police departments for refusing to accept missing persons reports, according to Rachel Dissell. The suits were dismissed by a Federal Court judge, but lawyers representing the families appealed (Dissell, np). The Cuyahoga County Court of Common Please also has a pending civil lawsuit filed by eight different relatives of Sowell's victims citing charges similar to those dismissed in federal courts. Anthony Sowell, Ohio inmate number A604609, is currently incarcerated at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution awaiting death. . His case is currently under appeal.