George William Skatzes was born on March 29, 1946. Before the events that would land him on death row, Skatzes had already been convicted of murder. In 1979, he was sentenced to life in prison for the fatal shooting of Arthur Smith, an individual he reportedly encountered during a violent altercation. The crime marked the beginning of Skatzes’ long-term imprisonment and placed him within the high-risk population of Ohio’s maximum-security facilities.

By the time of the 1993 Lucasville prison riot, Skatzes was already serving his life sentence and had become deeply embedded in the prison’s internal gang structure. He was affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood and was one of its most visible figures during the uprising. Skatzes was older than most of the other inmates involved and was said to have taken on a leadership role during the eleven-day siege.

The 1993 Lucasville prison riot remains one of the most violent and prolonged prison uprisings in American history. Spanning April 11 to April 21, 1993, the standoff involved 450 inmates who seized control of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Motivated by religious objections to mandatory TB testing, systemic overcrowding, and longstanding racial tensions, rival gangs, the Aryan Brotherhood, Black Muslims, and Gangster Disciples, joined forces to resist what they considered inhumane prison conditions.

George Skatzes was thrust into the spotlight as one of the Aryan Brotherhood’s leading representatives on the riot’s makeshift leadership council. He was directly implicated in the murder of three individuals during the chaos.

On April 11, 1993, inmates Earl Elder and David Sommers were killed, both reportedly targeted as suspected informants. Witnesses testified that Skatzes helped drag one of the men to a location where they were subsequently killed, and that he was present during both incidents. The exact level of his physical participation is disputed, but he was found guilty of complicity in both murders.

Perhaps the most consequential of the charges was the killing of Correctional Officer Robert Vallandingham. The officer had been taken hostage early in the riot, and when negotiations began to stall, the prisoners decided to execute him to pressure the state. While no single individual was proven to have delivered the fatal blow, Skatzes was charged with organizing and facilitating the murder.

In 1995, Skatzes was convicted of all three riot-related murders and sentenced to death. He became one of the infamous "Lucasville Five", a group of inmates deemed leaders of the rebellion and held responsible for its bloodiest outcomes.

Before Lucasville, Skatzes had already taken a life. In 1979, he was convicted of murdering Arthur Smith. According to case records, the crime involved a firearm and resulted in Skatzes receiving a life sentence, which he was serving at the time of the prison riot. This previous conviction heavily influenced public and legal perception of his actions during Lucasville, painting him as a repeat violent offender.

While most Ohio death row inmates have since been transferred to Ross Correctional Institution, George Skatzes remains housed at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution as of the latest updates. He has not been given a formal execution date.

Unlike his fellow Lucasville Five members who remain in the supermax facility at Youngstown, Skatzes’ legal and physical status has fluctuated over the years, due in part to his age and health conditions.