OIP REVIEW S E C O N D E D...

The People Behind OIP
Saving Lives Takes Passion;
Hard Work, Idealism Will Follow
Record Year for Exonerations
Recantations Lead
to Freeing Six
Grooming a New Life
OIP Gives Nancy Smith
a Dog-Grooming Career,
Puts Her on Path of Peace
OIP
S E CO N D
E D I T I O N
REVIEW
Ohio Innocence Project | UC College of Law
University of Cincinnati College of Law
27
Table of Contents | Published in 2015
Key Moments in 2014-15................................................................................................2
Saving Lives Takes Passion — Hard Work and Idealism Will Follow...............6
OIP By the Numbers..................................................................................................... 12
OIP Board of Advocates............................................................................................... 14
Rosenthal Award-Winning Attorneys Say OIP Work Most Meaningful...... 15
Lois Rosenthal’s Purpose in Life: To Create Justice, Care for the Lowly
and Share Art with the World......................................................................... 16
Recantations Lead to Freeing Six............................................................................. 18
Ricky Jackson Impacts OIP Students, Inspires Them To Get Involved........ 21
OIP Honor Roll of Donors........................................................................................... 22
Grooming a New Life................................................................................................... 24
Litigation Update on Kevin Thornton.................................................................... 25
Cover Illustration: Keith Negley
Design: Parkey Design
Editor: Deb Rieselman
Contributors:
Lisa David
Liza Dietrich
Sherry English
Mark Godsey
Jodi Shorr
Photographers:
Mark Bealer
Kamron Khan
Jay Yocis
University of Cincinnati
College of Law
Ohio Innocence Project
P.O. Box 210040
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040
513-556-0752
The Ohio Innocence Project Team 2015-16
Left to right — Top row: John Elleman, Andrew Hakala-Finch, Alex Barengo, Chris Collman. Second row: Maxel Moreland, Christopher Diedling,
Stephen Otte, Kendall Jent, Stephen Kelly. Third row: Jennifer Bergeron (staff attorney), Sam Dixius, Jack Duhan, Shellby Allen, Miranda
Anandappa, Jodi Shorr (administrative director). Fourth row: Mark Godsey (director), Brian Howe (staff attorney) Liza Dietrich (research
and writing assistant), Kathryn Lucas, Mallorie Thomas, Rebecca Brizzolara, Jordan Blake (intern), Donald Caster (staff attorney). Not pictured:
Joe Wambaugh.
What is the OIP?
The Ohio Innocence Project is Ohio’s only nonprofit organization
dedicated to freeing innocent people in prison and preventing wrongful
convictions. To achieve this, the OIP informs the public of criminal justice
system flaws, works to improve the system and educates law students
to be sensitive to systemic problems. To fulfill its mission, the OIP must
build a sustainable organization.
OIP values include: 1) honesty; 2) leadership to shape a better future;
3) passion, demonstrated through a commitment in the heart
and mind; 4) respect that honors the dignity of others; 5) teamwork;
and 6) excellence that strives for the highest level of professionalism.
The OIP will work only on cases where new evidence supports an
inmate’s claim of innocence.
Notice of Non-Discrimination
The University of Cincinnati does not discriminate
on the basis of disability, race, color, religion,
national origin, ancestry, medical condition,
genetic information, marital status, sex, age, sexual
orientation, veteran status or gender identity and
expression in its programs and activities. The following
positions have been designated to handle inquiries
regarding the University’s non-discrimination policies:
Section 504, ADA, Age Act Coordinator
340 University Hall, 51 Goodman Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0039
513-556-6381; [email protected]
Title IX Coordinator
3115 Edwards 1, 45 Corry Blvd.
Cincinnati, OH 45221
513-556-3349; [email protected]
For further information on notice of nondiscrimination, visit http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/
CFAPPS/OCR/contactus.cfm for the address and phone
number of the office that serves the University, or call
1-800-421-3481.
Improving the criminal justice system 20 lawyers at a time
Thanks to the support of those who
are reading this magazine, the OIP, in
its first decade, has become one of the
preeminent innocence organizations
in the world. Since our founding in
2003, the OIP has freed more innocent
people than any other state-based
innocence organization in the country.
To date, we have freed 23 Ohio inmates
on grounds of innocence, who have
jointly served more than 425 years in
prison for crimes they did not commit. We have also drafted and
helped pass ground-breaking legislative reforms to decrease the
chance that innocent Ohioans will be wrongfully convicted in
the future.
Still, much work remains to be done. Large bureaucracies
such as our criminal justice system are slow to change. Our work
has demonstrated serious flaws in eyewitness identification
evidence, a surprisingly high rate of false confessions and the
unreliability of the forensic sciences. Yet shockingly few steps
have been taken to improve the state of evidence used to convict
our own citizens. Indeed, even if all possible improvements were
someday adopted, human error will always exist as long as
humans are in charge.
Thanks to the work of all the innocence organizations
around the country and around the world, OIP is now widely
recognized as a “backend check” on the system and a means to
search for innocent prisoners who fell through the cracks of the
criminal justice machinery. Primarily, it needs to be a permanent
part of our criminal justice landscape. And thanks to your ongoing
support, the OIP will be here to fill that crucial need going forward.
But the OIP does more than free the innocent and fight for
reforms to decrease wrongful convictions. It trains law students
and exposes them to the problems in the system. Each year,
approximately 20 law students spend a full year working in the
trenches — digging through files, interviewing witnesses and
applying their knowledge of forensic techniques like DNA testing,
as well as so many other things that make up the work we do.
They learn in a hands-on fashion how to build a case and
what can make a case go wrong, resulting in a tragic injustice.
They learn to question, to never accept the easy answer and to
keep digging with an open mind to finding the truth.
By sending 20 new lawyers out into the world each year,
each of whom has gone through this eye-opening experience, we
hope to help make the criminal justice system more open-minded,
more questioning, more tolerant, more unbiased and, ultimately,
more truth-seeking. And most important, we are supplying our
community with 20 new lawyers who know that even the smallest
among us — such as a law student — can take on the system and
correct an injustice that the system has refused to recognize.
The OIP is pleased to present you with this publication,
updating you on our important work.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Mark Godsey
Daniel P. and Judith L. Carmichael Professor of Law
Director and Co-Founder, Ohio Innocence Project
University of Cincinnati College of Law
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Key Moments in 2014-15
OIP Honors Its First Decade of Progress
On Oct. 25, 2014, alumni, staff, donors, exonerees
and friends of the Ohio Innocence Project joined
together to commemorate OIP’s first decade
of battling injustice and freeing the wrongfully
convicted in Ohio. The 10th Anniversary Gala was
hosted by Cincinnati Mayor and OIP co-founder
John Cranley.
Attendees were welcomed by Santa J. Ono,
University of Cincinnati president and an avid
supporter. Exoneree Nancy Smith and former OIP
UC President Santa
J. Ono
fellow Eva Hagar provided special commentaries,
reflecting on their individual experiences with OIP,
emphasizing the depth of the program’s impact and its importance.
The event celebrated five honorees whose contributions have
helped OIP quickly become one of the most successful Innocence
Projects in the nation.
First, exoneree Robert McClendon presented a special award to
Peter Vitulli, president and CEO of the DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC).
DDC has generously provided OIP with free forensic DNA testing
since 2005. This testing has been instrumental in four of OIP’s
exonerations, including McClendon’s exoneration in 2008.
The next two honorees, Jim and Nancy Petro, received
recognition from exoneree Dean Gillispie for their continued support
of the OIP. Jim helped OIP secure the freedom of exoneree Clarence
Elkins and later worked pro bono for the organization, helping free
Gillispie. Jim was also instrumental in the passing of Senate Bill 77,
a reform package that offered strong new protections for avoiding
wrongful convictions and made it easier to exonerate innocent
prisoners through DNA testing. Nancy is nationally recognized for
her literary contributions to the innocence movement.
Louis Bilionis (dean at the time) honored the two people who
have been OIP’s biggest benefactors — Dick and Lois Rosenthal,
who together helped build OIP from the ground up. The “backbone”
of OIP, the Rosenthals are largely responsible for the program’s
substantial advancement in such a short period of time.
OIP director and co-founder Mark Godsey remarked that in
just 10 years the OIP secured the freedom of 17 individuals, who
combined served nearly 300 years in prison. Without the OIP’s
efforts, these individuals would likely have spent the night of the
gala in prison cells, doing time for crimes they did not commit.
Molly Elkins, Clarence Elkins
(exoneree)
Robert McClendon (exoneree),
Peter Vitulli
Jim Petro, Nancy Petro, Dean Gillispie (exoneree)
Justin Jennewine (OIP Class of 2014-15), Mason
Kelly, Melissa Kelly, Nancy Smith (exoneree),
Jon Kelly (OIP Class of 2014-15), Courtney Smith,
David Breedon, Kimberly Breedon
Watch the moving video about the first 10 years of OIP.
https://youtu.be/buNbARJQQU8
Lynn Chabris, Anne DeLyons,
Paula Muething
Jim Helmer, Dick Rosenthal
Chick Dorfman, John Isidor
Rebecca Zemmelman (OIP
Class of 2014-15) and Hon.
Marianna Brown Bettman
From the left — Top row: Bridget Cameron, Scott Hasson, Judy
Mincy, Brendan O’Reilly (OIP Class of 2011-12), Aimee Wallace
Bottom row: Jodi Shorr, Greg Moredock (OIP Class of 2011-12),
Annie Paul
Mark Godsey, then-dean
Louis Bilionis, Dick Rosenthal,
Mayor John Cranley
James Fondriest, Sarah Topy, Cliff Schecter,
Curtis Scribner (OIP Class of 2005-06),
Aftab Pureval
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Ohio Innocence Project
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
University of Cincinnati College of Law
3
Key Moments in 2014-15
Cognitive Neuroscience Researcher
from London Visits College of Law
Last November, the Ohio Innocence Project
and UC Law’s Criminal Law Society invited
Dr. Itiel Dror to speak at the University of
Cincinnati College of Law. Dr. Dror is the
senior cognitive neuroscience researcher
at University College London. Dr. Dror
addressed a packed lecture hall made up
of students and members of the Cincinnati
legal community.
He discussed his groundbreaking research, which included
findings revealing the effect of cognitive bias on crime-scene
expert testimony. Dror explained that cognitive bias renders
expert testimony far less reliable than both the criminal justice
system and the public generally believe. Dror explained that the
way experts think and the way the brain works makes scientific
testimony highly prone to human error.
Ricky Jackson, exoneree, shares his experiences with the community.
‘Art After Dark’
Sheds Light on OIP
Death Penalty Advocacy Group Honors Ohio Innocence Project and Its Exonerees
Left to right — Terry Gilbert, Mark Godsey, Brian Howe, Wiley
Bridgeman, Ricky Jackson, Kwame Ajamu, David Mills
Professor and Ohio Innocence Project director Mark Godsey,
OIP attorney Brian Howe and three exonerees were recognized
with the “Rose Elizabeth Bird Commitment to Justice Award”
at the 24th Annual Death Penalty Focus Awards dinner, held
May 7, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Death Penalty Focus is an
organization committed to the abolition of the death penalty.
The award recognizes individuals whose actions and stories
bring to light the flaws in the U.S. judicial system.
The organization’s president, Mike Farrell, wrote about the
honorees, “Your efforts, which resulted in the exoneration of
these men for a crime they did not commit, are an incredible
accomplishment. It is cases like these which further illustrate
the importance of our work to end the death penalty.” Farrell,
an actor and activist, is well-known for his role as B.J. Hunnicutt
from the hit TV show “M.A.S.H.”
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Ohio Innocence Project
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
Event attendees included:
• Ed Asner, known for his Emmy Award-winning role as
Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and for his
starring role on the spin-off “Lou Grant,” as well as his
role as Ed Wunclear on “The Boondocks”
• Actress Amy Brenneman, known for her roles in the
TV series “Judging Amy,” as Violet Turner in “Private
Practice” and as Laurie Garvey in HBO’s “The Leftovers”
• Larry Flynt, Jr., Larry Flynt Publications president
Godsey and Howe were recognized for their representation
of Ricky Jackson, who was freed. The OIP’s investigation
ultimately freed Jackson’s co-defendants, too: Wiley Bridgeman
and Kwame (Bridgeman) Ajamu (both represented by Terry
Gilbert and David Mills) — who, along with Jackson, were
honored for their courage and commitment. Together the men
served more than 100 years in prison — many of those years on
death row — for a crime they did not commit.
Jackson has the tragic distinction of setting the record for
the longest-serving person to be exonerated in U.S. history,
39 years. The men were exonerated after a key prosecution
witness recanted his story that he saw the men shoot and kill a
Cleveland businessman in 1975.
Three more awards: OIP also received the Champions for
Connecting Cultures & Communities award from the Cincinnati
Human Relations Commission in July 2015. By the end of the
year, OIP will also have won the Outstanding Program Award
from the Ohio State Bar Foundation and the 2015 Rescuer of
Humanity Award from Values-in-Action for its commitment to
improve humanity.
On July 31, 2015, the Ohio Innocence
Project partnered with the Cincinnati
Art Museum’s “Art After Dark” event.
The event featured a beer garden in the
museum courtyard, music and a VIP room
with appetizers for OIP guests.
The general public was invited to
meet and hear Ricky Jackson share his
story as the longest-serving person to be exonerated in history.
Mayor Cranley, OIP director Mark Godsey and exonerees
Robert McClendon and Dean Gillispie were among the 150
in attendance.
Mr. Jackson graciously fielded questions from the
audience, talking about his experience serving time in prison.
While there were many emotionally driven moments to Mr.
Jackson’s story, his most insightful explanation of his life after
being wrongfully convicted and freed was summed up with
this final thought about what most people take for granted,
like walking under the stars: “What you may consider ordinary,
I consider extraordinary.” After spending the majority of his life
incarcerated, Mr. Jackson said he fully appreciates everything
that freedom has to offer.
The “Art After Dark” event was just one of several domestic
public speaking appearances by Mr. Jackson as he uses his
own story to draw attention to the impact the Ohio Innocence
Project has made
and the shortfalls
of our criminal
justice system.
Ricky Jackson (left), Robert McClendon
Mark Godsey speaking in Beijing in 2013
Ohio Innocence Project Leads
International Innocence Movement
Mark Godsey and the Ohio Innocence Project, through its
international component called the Center for the Global Study
of Wrongful Convictions, have been leaders in helping the
Innocence Movement spread around the world.
In the past decade, Mark has helped establish innocence
organizations throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, while
regularly consulting on such cases around the world. He has
spoken about the movement to the Supreme Courts of China
and Poland, and has given public lectures on the subject in
India, South Africa, Ireland, the Netherlands, Wales, the Czech
Republic and Italy, among others.
Mark is co-chair of the Innocence Network’s international
committee and is part of a working group dedicated to
establishing the right for prisoners to seek their release through
new evidence of innocence as an international human right.
Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck has recognized
the Ohio Innocence Project as one of the organizations at the
forefront of the International Innocence Movement.
In 2011, the OIP hosted the first International Innocence
Conference at the Freedom Center in Cincinnati. Scheck
referred to the conference as groundbreaking, noting that OIP
has taken the lead in doing international work.
To stay updated on wrongful convictions news,
check out Mark Godsey’s blog www.wrongfulconvictionsblog.org.
Little known fact: OIP frequently hosts international
visitors who fly all the way to Ohio to spend a summer
working as fellows. During the summer of 2015, OIP had
visitors from Ireland and Italy.
University of Cincinnati College of Law
5
Passion
Saving Lives Takes Passion —
Hard Work and Idealism Will Follow
by Deb Rieselman
“When I was in prison, seeing
how hard the OIP students
worked on my case inspired me
and gave me hope, something
I had not had for years.
Whenever they came to visit
me in prison, it was a blessing.
“I’m not much on words, but
I speak from the heart. They
changed my life.”
— Clarence Elkins, freed from
prison in ’05 after serving 7.5 years,
speaking at the UC College of Law in ’06
“It’s absolutely intriguing how
these skilled and remarkable
law students so immerse
themselves in these cases.
For them, they have no bias,
no baggage, no paying clients.
They can look at things through
untainted lenses.
“It’s not just a matter of
enforcing the law for them, but
fighting for justice. The fight for
justice is the higher ideal.”
— Jim Canepa, chief deputy
attorney general, whose office
intervened to get Elkins a new trial
when OIP found DNA evidence
that excluded Elkins from the case,
speaking at UC with Elkins in ’06
“Student idealism and
passion.” That’s how director
Mark Godsey sums up the lifeblood
of the Ohio Innocence Project, and no one
would argue — neither the prisoners nor
the state attorney general’s office.
That passion is what leads UC law
students to labor an entire 12 months,
even full time during the summer term.
That passion keeps them from shirking
any responsibilities when 20 cases are
handed to them as soon as they walk
through the door. Sometimes, they will
work evenings and travel out of town.
Rarely, will they see a case through to
the end.
And it takes both passion and
idealism to keep them focused on the
fact that OIP has freed 23 prisoners over
the last 12 years, rather than dwelling on
the reality that the vast majority of their
efforts will fail, based upon the numbers.
“There’s an emotional toll to that,” says
administrative director Jodi Shorr.
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Ohio Innocence Project
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
But the encouraging aspect is that
when Godsey said, “The students are
what make us better than other legal
organizations that aren’t run by students,”
he meant those last three words. These
students are doing real work.
Right from the start, they make case
presentations to the OIP staff and other
fellows regarding which cases they should
take. During the course of a one-year
fellowship, they will conduct research,
knock on doors, visit inmates, meet
families, request public records, study
cases down to the tiniest minutia, meet
with staff attorneys nearly daily and try as
hard as possible to uncover new evidence.
“We throw them in,” Shorr admits,
“and they’re holding someone’s life in
their hands. It’s overwhelming.”
“Well, it’s reasonably overwhelming,”
clarifies current OIP student Max Moreland
at about six weeks into the job. “It’s a great
opportunity to see what a lawyer can do,
and it’s a really good cause — having the
ability to change someone’s life.”
“So many students through the
years have poured their hearts
and souls into this case. So
many of them have cried with
Dean (Gillispie) and his mother,
or held their hands. Without
their passion and inspiration,
this victory would not have
happened.
“Student idealism and passion
is the lifeblood of the OIP.
The students are what make
us better than other legal
organizations that aren’t run
by students.”
— OIP director Mark Godsey,
speaking after the December 2011
release of Gillispie, who had served
20 years in prison
From the left — OIP staff Jennifer Paschen Bergeron,
Brian Howe, Mark Godsey, Liza Dietrich, Jodi
Shorr, Donald Caster
His OIP partner, Jack Duhan, adds,
“We get good experience — hands-on
stuff that people usually don’t get at our
age. It’s a positive experience that has me
thinking more and more about working in
the area of criminal defense.”
By the end of the academic year, each
student will have handled about 60 cases.
Shorr’s database of all cases, in which
OIP had at least done some research or
made some phone calls, totaled 7,684 by
mid-July.
OIP was born in 2003, and today
the workload is handled by one director,
one administrative director, two full-time
University of Cincinnati College of Law
7
The OIP office is often full of fellows working on different cases — some working silently
while trying to discover valuable research and others debating strategies with co-fellows
and staff.
staff attorneys (Brian Howe and Donald
Caster currently), one part-time staff
attorney (Jennifer Bergeron at present),
one research and writing assistant (Liza
Dietrich currently), no more than 20
student “fellows,” as they are called, and a
few summer interns (undergraduates).
Attorney Howe, JD ’10, knows what
it’s like. Not only does he supervise
current students working on cases, but he
also spent a year as an OIP fellow.
Brian Howe, JD ’10, is the only current OIP
staff attorney who has previously been an
OIP fellow.
“They are lucky to get entrusted with
a lot of responsibility so quickly,” Howe
says. “This was one of the most fun and
exciting experiences I had as a student.
“I really liked the day-to-day work of
reviewing boxes of old documents and
being the underdog in litigation. Students
get to track down witnesses from 20 years
ago. They get to do fun stuff like finding
new evidence. By fall, they are assisting
staff attorneys with writing briefs.
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Ohio Innocence Project
“By the spring, the students are
the ones guiding cases. The difference
between where they are now and
where they will be in the spring will
be astounding.”
Unfortunately, at the end of the day,
no one can go home and talk about what
kind of day it’s been. That’s because all the
stress, strain and occasional satisfaction
surrounding legal cases are, of course,
confidential.
So each student selects a peer
partner to work with at the beginning of
the OIP fellowship. “It’s important to have
someone who understands how hard the
work is and what you’re going through,”
explains Shorr.
“It’s an emotionally heavy job. This
helps ease the burden.”
The partners share the same
caseloads. They analyze cases together,
compare results on the work they’ve done
and check each other’s work.
As they proceed, they report their
findings and strategies to Shorr and the
staff attorneys assigned to the cases.
Shorr trusts their work and says with total
honesty, “We listen to their opinions. No
one knows the case files better than the
fellows. We change each other’s minds all
the time.”
The three staff attorneys have a
heavy workload due to their dual roles
— being counselors good enough to
stand up to the judicial system and being
instructors good enough to teach law
students to save lives.
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
“I have about 60 cases in my head at
all times,” Howe points out, “and they are
never the same 60 cases from week to
week. Only about 10 to 12 of them will be
in active litigation. The rest are in various
stages of investigation.
“If we do a job well, that’s great, but
if we make a mistake, an innocent person
could die in prison. That is a huge amount
of pressure.”
The pressure of teaching may be less,
but he takes it just as seriously. “We really
care about the students understanding all
of this,” he says. “Once you pour all of your
time and energy into making sure they
can handle these situations, you watch
them become so competent at this niche
job … then they leave us. Then we get 20
more students.”
Caring so much about justice being
done seems to create an environment
with lots of respect and camaraderie
among students, staff and attorneys. Like
most OIP fellows, Howe has remained in
contact with people he knew from his
fellowship year. “I was even a groomsman
for the staff attorney who was here when I
was a student,” he adds with a smile.
The friendship in the office certainly
serves a crucial function in helping to
relieve stress. But Shorr has another
avenue available. Once or twice a week,
she brings in her two dogs.
“Having dogs around can be very
calming,” she states. “They were rescue
dogs, and we rescue people.”
By the time OIP fellows graduate,
they can’t remember every name
affiliated with every case they worked
on. But they do try to follow up on some
particular ones. Cases take years, if not
decades, to be resolved. Consequently,
different students over many years will
work on the same cases.
Such was the situation with Ricky
Jackson, exonerated in November 2014
after being sentenced to death for a
murder he did not commit. Serving 39
years in prison made Jackson the longestserving person to be exonerated in
U.S. history.
Staff attorney Howe investigated
and litigated the case, which involved
Howe and his fellows finding three new
witnesses for the case by literally knocking
on doors in the neighborhood where it
happened and asking, “Were you around
in 1975? Do you know anyone who knows
anything about this case?”
Originally, OIP fellow Scott Crowley,
JD ’11, took particular notice of the case
in 2010. He pressed the attorneys to keep
the case open and to continue digging
because he had a feeling something
wasn’t quite right, Shorr explains. His
persistence paid off.
The next year, undergraduate
intern Gretchen Schrader, was assigned
the Jackson case as a special project.
Frustrated that the city of Cleveland
wasn’t responding to public records
requests, Schrader continued to dig
until she got all of the records needed.
“It was Gretchen who obtained the vital
information that would eventually break
open the case,” Godsey says.
A year later, fellow Sierra Merida,
JD ’14, followed up on Schrader’s work,
spending hours on the phone talking
to potential witnesses. Eventually, she
developed a strong rapport with a
community of witnesses and got them to
speak openly about the case.
Godsey recalls when OIP
was working on the case for
Douglas Prade, who served 15
years before getting released
in 2012. Through the years,
Prade had carefully recorded
the names of each student
who had worked on his case.
“Each year, when new
students took over his case, he
crossed out the names of the
outgoing students and wrote
in the new names,” Godsey
OIP fellows Stephen Kelly and Mallorie Thomas
says. “Doug told me that this
Exoneree Dean Gillispie talks to OIP
administrative director Jodi Shorr.
was among the most important pages in
his personal diary.”
Innocence Project founder Barry
Scheck recognizes OIP as one of the most
active and successful projects in the
country. “The Ohio Innocence Project has
become one of the premier projects,” he
said on the group’s 10th anniversary. “The
number of people they have freed and
the legislative reforms they have been
able to get passed in Ohio have made
them a national model — actually, an
international model — for success.”
And maybe that is because the
students and staff who interview students
for the next year look for three things:
the best combination of skills, varying
personalities and passion. “Passion. That’s
what we want,” Shorr firmly states. The
rest naturally follows.
University of Cincinnati College of Law
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OIP Staff Profiles
Jodi Shorr trades FBI for OIP
Students help motivate Donald Caster
Initially, the prospect of working for an organization like the
Ohio Innocence Project was not on Jodi Shorr’s radar. As an
undergrad at Indiana University, Jodi majored in applied health
science and minored in psychology, sociology and public
health. After college while living in New Jersey, she worked
in publishing.
Then later when living in Washington, D.C., she worked
at a health-outcomes research organization before making
the decision to get her master’s. Intrinsically interested in the
criminal mind and what motivates
criminal behavior, Jodi planned
to earn a master’s degree in
criminology and eventually work in
the FBI.
Jodi attended Northern
Arizona University, a decision she
owes in part to director of the
Arizona Innocence Project (AIP)
Professor Rob Schehr. Schehr
introduced Jodi to the concept of
wrongful conviction and offered
her the opportunity to work for the
Arizona Innocence Project. Jodi
worked as a graduate assistant for
the AIP for two years, as well as a
volunteer investigator for the AIP.
While finishing her master’s degree in 2009, she did a summer
internship at OIP.
Less than a year later, OIP’s administrator left the position,
and Jodi interviewed for and received the role. Over time,
her job duties expanded, and in 2012, she became the
administrative director for the Ohio Innocence Project.
The Ohio Innocence Project has a dual purpose to serve
those who have fallen through the cracks of the criminal justice
system, as well as to help train future lawyers. When it comes
to fulfilling these purposes, Jodi is a force to be reckoned with.
She has played a significant role in making OIP the organization
it is today.
Donald Caster was born and raised in Buffalo, New York.
Donald’s mother supported the family as a full-time
administrative professional, while his father attended seminary.
Donald was raised in an environment that valued religious
principles. As he and his sister became adults, they both
pursued different forms of human rights advocacy. While
Donald’s sister joined the Peace Corps, Donald took a more
traditional route and entered the legal profession.
A 2003 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College
of Law, Donald practiced law in many forms before coming to
work for the Ohio Innocence Project. Right out of law school,
Donald clerked for a federal judge in West Virginia, then joined
a renowned civil-rights firm as an associate attorney. Next,
Donald opened a solo practice, focused toward criminal defense
and then worked as a Butler County prosecutor.
In 2012, Donald learned of an opening at OIP and
immediately applied. He was drawn to the challenging nature
of post-conviction litigation and the unique opportunity to
work with innocent clients.
Three years later, Donald has come to appreciate another
aspect of OIP — working with law students. Not only do the
students help Donald stay motivated, but they have also
proven to be an invaluable resource.
When Donald was hired he had only six weeks to prepare
for a hearing that would determine whether Glenn Tinney
would be released from prison. By then, the fellows assigned to
Tinney’s case had worked
on it for several months.
They helped bring Donald
up-to-date on years
of litigation and postconviction developments.
Thanks to the students,
Donald became familiar
enough with the case to
argue successfully for
Tinney’s release.
10
Ohio Innocence Project
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
Foreign affairs led Jennifer Paschen
Bergeron to law degree
New attorney Brian Howe once an
OIP fellow
Prior to attending law school, Jennifer Paschen Bergeron
studied international affairs and French at Centre College in
Danville, Ky. She received
a master’s in foreign affairs
from the University of
Virginia. After graduate
school, Jennifer decided to
study law at the University
of Cincinnati College of Law.
She graduated in 2002
and became a member of
the Ohio Bar the following
November.
As a new attorney,
Jennifer worked in the
litigation and employmentlaw department of Vorys’
and Sater. She later left
Vory’s and Sater to work as an associate for the firm of Ulmer
and Berne.
Jennifer was hired as a staff attorney with OIP in 2007. Less
than a year later, she helped exonerate Robert McClendon.
McClendon’s case was highlighted in the Columbus Dispatch,
calling for the re-examination of several questionable
convictions. Following the publication, Jennifer filed an
application for DNA testing on McClendon’s behalf. Expecting
a lot of pushback from the prosecutor’s office and a lengthy
court battle, Jennifer was pleasantly surprised when the
application went unopposed.
Testing was conducted on evidence left over from the
rape that led to McClendon’s conviction. The results proved
McClendon innocent. Using the results, Jennifer helped
overturn McClendon’s conviction. McClendon had served 18
years prior to being released.
Jennifer takes pride in knowing that OIP represents hope
to thousands of wrongfully convicted inmates across Ohio. She
often receives letters of gratitude from clients.
A surprising number of these letters come from clients
whose cases have been closed. This means a lot to Jennifer,
especially when circumstances force her to close a case
she truly believes in. It’s what she focuses on during the
inevitable long stretches of time between court decisions
and exonerations.
In addition to being the newest attorney at OIP, Brian Howe
is currently the only attorney on staff who was once a fellow
with the project. During his second year as a student at the
University of Cincinnati College of Law, Brian participated in
OIP under the direction of then-staff attorney David Laing.
Returning to OIP has given Brian the opportunity to review
some of the same cases he had worked on in 2008-09. Not only
is it interesting to view cases at two widely different stages in
development, but he even saw some of the cases through to
the end.
Between November 2014 and March 2015, Brian secured
the release of six of his clients. One of these clients was Ricky
Jackson, who holds the record for the longest time served of
any exoneree. Ricky was in
prison for 39 years, which
includes years before his
attorney was even born. Yet
Brian had worked on the
case while a student.
Prior to law school,
Brian studied philosophy
and Russian at the Ohio
State University. As an
undergrad, he spent a
semester abroad in St.
Petersburg, Russia. After
earning his bachelor’s
in 2003, he entered the
workforce, negotiating
ad rates for advertising
agencies. Brian attended UC Law from 2007-10, during which
time he became a fellow with OIP and interned at Legal Aid.
After law school, Brian worked for Legal Aid as an Equal Justice
fellow, litigating foreclosure and housing-related issues.
Brian really likes the challenge of representing the
underdog. At Legal Aid, he represented individuals who were
facing eviction at the hands of large corporations and banks.
Although he and his colleagues had high success rates, each
case was an uphill battle.
University of Cincinnati College of Law
11
A Review of 2014-15
OIP by the Numbers
2003-15
{
Why were
they convicted?
Innocents released
8
Witness
misidentifications
12
Official
misconduct
12
Ohio Innocence Project
6 years
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
10
6 exonerees released
between November 2014 and March 2015,
an OIP record.
False
testimonies
Among those released this year,
3 served time on
death row.
Client highlight
OIP client Ricky Jackson holds the national
record for longest time served by an exoneree
2
39 years
1975-2014
False
confessions
To put this into perspective,
Ricky first entered jail the same year
the Vietnam War ended.
20 OIP fellows worked on Ricky’s case for more than 9 years before his exoneration.
9
Cases in which DNA was
used to prove innocence
Average number of years
worked on cases before
innocents released
23
OIP had
5
Cases OIP
opened in 2014
500
Faulty
science
Letters sent
regarding cases in 2014
2,755
Time on phone
with inmates
6,361
minutes
Current staff
Director: 1
Administrative director: 1
Full-time staff attorneys: 2
Part-time staff attorney: 1
Research and writing assistant: 1
Fellows: 17
Academic year 2014-15
Total amount
of prison time
served
425.5
years
Cases OIP actively
worked on in 2014
250
Approximately 22 of them are
currently being litigated.
Letters received
regarding cases in 2014
1,943
For more information and to connect with OIP:
Follow us on Facebook
facebook.com/OhioInnocenceProject
or visit us at www.law.uc.edu/oip.
Support OIP efforts
Donate by mobile phone: www.uc.edu/give (Specify OIP under “other.”)
Donate online: www.uc.edu/give (Select OIP from the dropdown menu.)
University of Cincinnati College of Law
13
OIP Proudly Recognizes Its Board of
Advocates and Their Achievements
The OIP Board, formed in 2013, is responsible for the integrity
and growth of the organization. The OIP Board meets regularly,
helping to advance OIP’s mission.
Each board member has an annual commitment to raise
funds for OIP. Since 2014, the board had provided additional
support with Development, Marketing and PR efforts, helping
the organization gain additional awareness in the community
and increased publicity of OIP’s successes and mission.
Also, the board, along with the help of volunteer
consultants, revised the mission, vision and values, as well as
developed a strategic plan that identifies specific objectives,
goals, strategies and measures for the organization.
Through events, project efforts, donors and sponsorships,
OIP has raised more than $5.2 million from over 600 donors. In
October 2014, OIP celebrated its 10th anniversary with its first
dinner gala, which netted $152,169.
OIP Board of Advocate Members
Steve Black
Board President,
Attorney
John Isidor
Board Vice President,
Human Subject Protection Consulting, LLC
Greg Bell
President, KCB Capital Partners
Joe Brant
Of Counsel, Katz Teller Brant & Hild
Kathy Brinkman
Of Counsel, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur
Dena Cranley
Community Advocate
Anne Levin DeLyons
Community Advocate
Dean Gillispie
Exoneree
OIP Forms Northeast Ohio
Board of Advocates
Through the efforts of OIP supporter
Jim Petro, an OIP Board of Advocates has been
formed in Northeast Ohio to provide regionally focused
support for OIP.
The Executive Committee comprises many individuals
who have helped support OIP in the past:
• Alec Berezin serves as NE Board President
• Terry Gilbert and Mark Devan, criminal defense
lawyers who have been actively involved in working
with OIP in its cases
• Judy Lipton and Carmen Naso of the Case Western
Reserve Law School Clinic
• Robert Tobik, chief Cuyahoga County public
defender
• Phil Calabrese and Michael Meuti, attorneys at
large corporate firms who have volunteered their
expertise to OIP
• Gordon Friedman, Andrea Whitaker and
Jacqueline Greene from the criminal defense bar
• Jim Petro, former Ohio Attorney General
• Raymond Towler, exoneree representative
As a local resource, the board will support OIP’s
litigation efforts in Northeast Ohio and provide insight into
14
Ohio Innocence Project
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
Mark Godsey
Professor, UC College of Law
Paul Heldman
Retired Executive Vice President & General Counsel
of The Kroger Co.
Hon. Nathaniel Jones
Of Counsel, Blank Rome LLP
Cliff Schecter
President, Libertas LLC
Curtis Scribner
Senior Counsel, The Procter & Gamble Company
Mandy Shoemaker
UC University Honors Program
Dick Weiland
Richard Consulting Corporation
the inner workings of the Cleveland and Northeast Ohio
courts. The board will also educate the community about
the Ohio Innocence Project through educational seminars,
training programs and judicial conferences. It also hopes
to tap into the philanthropic spirit of Cleveland to expand
OIP’s capacity via fundraising efforts in the northeastern
part of the state.
The Northeast board held their first fundraiser at Lolita
in Cleveland on June 15, 2015, raising more than $14,000
thanks in part to a matching gift of $5,000 by Terry and
Robin Gilbert.
Rosenthal Award-Winning Attorneys
Say OIP Work Most Meaningful
by Deb Rieselman
During Andy Cassady’s first
semester at UC’s College
of Law in 2011, the Ohio
Innocence Project had just
freed Dean Gillispie from 20
unjust years in prison. Cassady
attended a large seminar
about the case, where OIP
director and Professor Mark
Godsey played a video of him
telling Gillispie’s mom that
her son would soon be home.
“She cried and cried,”
Cassady clearly remembers.
“As soon as I saw that, I knew
that’s want I wanted — to do
work that meaningful.”
The following summer,
he applied to work with the
OIP for a year as a “fellow,”
the designation given to
accepted students. He clearly
arrived with a passion for the
work, which helped him win
the Lois Rosenthal Award,
a scholarship “awarded to
fellows exhibiting the highest
level of skill, determination
and passion for justice.”
Immediately upon
reporting to OIP, he was given
a stack of 20 cases. That stack
grew to roughly 60 cases
during the year, with 20 cases
active at a time.
“One of the great things
about the OIP,” Cassady says,
“is the amount of work you
get to do — writing motions,
trying to find evidence
and witnesses, making
recommendations. It was an
eye opening experience.
“We honed our legal skills
on some seriously heinous
crimes. We were reviewing
case files with real victims on
the other side.
“Learning to manage
client expectations was
probably the most important
thing I learned. I always
wanted to express my
hopefulness to clients, but
you have to be realistic, and
you have to be very careful to
not give clients false hope.”
Cassady passed the bar
exam after being hooded
in 2014 and landed a job
at Dinsmore, Cincinnati’s
largest law firm. Despite his
employer’s prestige, Cassady
claims that the OIP work
“will probably be the most
important work I ever do in
my entire legal career.”
He explains why: “We
were our clients’ last line
of defense. They had been
unsuccessful at every stage
of the game. And if we didn’t
take the case, there was no
one behind us. They put all
their trust and hope into
our hands.”
Scott Crowley, A&S ’08,
JD ’11, worked on OIP from
2009-10 and was also a Lois
Rosenthal Award winner. He
says it was great hands-on
training for his career as a
prosecutor in the Marines.
“OIP taught me hard work
and persistence. I needed
to do research to find new
evidence, suppressed
evidence and new witnesses.
I needed to know the facts of
the case inside and out.”
Andy Cassady
Scott Crowley
What surprised him
most in his OIP days were the
clients. “They were always
very, very humble, as well as
charismatic, interesting and
without any hard feelings
toward anyone. I don’t know
how they do it.”
And what was the hardest
part of the job? “We poured
our heart and soul into these
cases and got setback after
setback after setback. It was
difficult to get used to. We
were trying to be a voice
for our clients, and no one
was listening.”
Technically, Crowley’s
military title was “judge
advocate.” (San Diego was
his last location.) He explains
it simply, “Did you see the
movie ‘A Few Good Men’? I
am Kevin Bacon.” The job had
consisted of a wide variety of
legal work, but he completed
his service in August and
returned home to work at
the City of Cincinnati Law
Department as an assistant
city solicitor.
What is the
Rosenthal Award?
Each year, the Lois Rosenthal
Award is given to the two
OIP fellows who exhibit
the highest level of skill,
determination and passion for
justice. Since 2003, 24 fellows
have received this honor.
University of Cincinnati College of Law
15
Tribute
Lois Rosenthal’s Purpose in Life:
to Create Justice, Care for the Lowly
and Share Art with the World
by Deb Rieselman
W
hen Lois Rosenthal
passed away in
July 2014 at age 75,
Cincinnati lost a
benefactor who changed thousands
of lives and helped save the lives of at
least 23 people — wrongfully convicted
individuals who had been rescued from
death row or near life sentences through
the Ohio Innocence Project. Lois and her
husband of 54 years, Richard, virtually
created OIP in 2003.
Richard and Lois (a 1960 economics
alumna at UC and an ’08 Honorary
Doctorate recipient) started donating
to the College of Law in 2003, then gave
a $1 million gift in 2004 to endow the
Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute
for Justice, which operates the Ohio
Innocence Project. Their total gifts to the
college totaled more than $2.5 million.
An Institute for Justice is what one
would have expected out of Lois, who
was always taking care of the oppressed,
hungry and disadvantaged of Cincinnati,
where she had been born and raised.
She began the Rosenthal Fresh
Foods Initiative at Cincinnati’s Freestore
Foodbank, where food was collected
from companies and distributed to those
in need. Lois and Richard instituted the
Rosey Reader Program to foster a love
of reading in Cincinnati Public Schools
16
Ohio Innocence Project
by providing free books to more than
30,000 young children.
To bring art to the less fortunate, the
couple founded Uptown Arts in Over the
Rhine to offer free classes in performing
and visual arts to children aged 5 to 10.
Plus, the Rosenthal Next Generation
Theatre Series introduced more than
76,000 children and their parents to live
performances at Cincinnati Playhouse in
the Park.
The couple also established the
Playhouse’s Rosenthal New Play Prize,
which produced 15 world premiere
productions — several nominated for
Pulitzer Prizes — from 1988-2003.
Museums were a passion of theirs.
In 2003, the Rosenthals donated enough
money to the Cincinnati Art Museum
to ensure free admission in perpetuity.
As a National Underground Railroad
Freedom Center trustee, Lois was
instrumental in bringing to life “Invisible:
Slavery Today,” the world’s first museumquality, permanent exhibition dealing
with modern-day slavery and human
trafficking.
As a Cincinnati Zoo trustee, she
helped create a high-school program,
worked to halt animal entertainment
acts and was instrumental in beginning
an artificial-insemination program for
endangered species.
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
The couple’s 1999 gift of $6 million
toward the Contemporary Arts Center’s
new home remains one of the largest
one-time gifts to a Cincinnati institution.
From 1985-99, Richard owned F&W
Publications, a specialty-book and
magazine publisher, where Lois became
the editor of the literary magazine
“Story,” which was nominated five times
in the prestigious National Magazine
Awards’ short-fiction category and
won twice.
“What the Ohio Innocence Project
is today came from Lois Rosenthal,”
says OIP director and Professor Mark
Godsey. “John Cranley (OIP co-founder
with Godsey) and I were a couple of
lawyers who could work cases, but we
didn’t know how to build an institution.
Fortunately, Lois took us under her
wing early on, and it was her vision, her
involvement, that showed us what this
organization could become.
“Twenty-three wrongfully convicted
Ohioans — and many more in the future
— can thank Lois and Dick Rosenthal for
their freedom.”
Lois is survived by her husband,
Richard; their two children, Jennie and
David; four grandchildren; and her
brother, Harvey Reis.
“Hers has always been
a hands-on philosophy
of serving — not from
afar but up close where
it all counts.”
— former Cincinnati City Council
member Marian Spencer
University of Cincinnati College of Law
17
Amid the media frenzy surrounding Ricky Jackson’s release from 39 years of
wrongful imprisonment are OIP exonerees Dean Gillispie (in light blue shirt
behind Jackson), Clarence Elkins (smiling in upper right corner) and Raymond
Towler (bearded man in a black cap behind Jackson). Between Towler and
Gillispie is OIP director Mark Godsey. Below are the two innocent men who
served time with Jackson: Kwame Ajamu (left) and Wiley Bridgeman (right,
both represented by Terry Gilbert and David Mills).
Freedom
Recantations Lead to Freeing Six
The Ohio Innocence Project celebrated six victories this year. In November 2014, the Cuyahoga County
Prosecutor dropped charges against Ricky Jackson, Kwame Ajamu and Wiley Bridgeman, 39 years after
the men were convicted of murder. Just four months later, Derrick Wheatt, Laurese Glover and Eugene
Johnson experienced freedom for the first time in 20 years after Judge Nancy Russo threw out their 1996
murder convictions.
18
Ohio Innocence Project
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
Opposite page: Derrick Wheatt hears his conviction
being thrown out of court after being unjustly
imprisoned for nearly 20 years. Below him are Eugene
Johnson (left) and Laurese Glover (right), both of
whom also spent nearly two decades in jail.
University of Cincinnati College of Law
19
Derrick Wheatt (left), represented by OIP, and
Eugene Johnson (right), represented by Brett
Murner and Jim Valentine, celebrate their
freedom. Inset photo: Laurese Glover, also
represented by OIP, hugs his mother.
Jackson,
Bridgeman
and Ajamu
In 1975, Ricky Jackson, Wiley
Bridgeman and Kwame Ajamu
were convicted of murder and
sentenced to death based
on the trial testimony of a
12-year-old boy named Eddie
Vernon. Vernon’s eyewitness
testimony was compelling,
but it was a lie. Vernon told
the police a story he made up
about Jackson and his friends
being involved.
When the boy tried to
back out from testifying, the
police threatened to arrest
his parents. (Read more
details on page 9.)
After decades of silence,
Vernon, now in his 50s, came
forward with the truth.
First, he admitted the
truth to his pastor, who
advised him to tell the
authorities. Then, last
20
Ohio Innocence Project
November, Vernon recanted
his prior testimony in the
Cuyahoga County Common
Pleas Court. Vernon’s
recantation proved so
compelling that it prompted
the Cuyahoga County
Prosecutor Tim McGinty to
drop all the charges against
Jackson, Ajamu and
Bridgeman.
Jackson and Bridgeman
were released from prison
the same day after spending
39 and 38 years in prison,
respectively. Ajamu, who was
released a decade earlier,
came to greet the men.
The three men were later
fully exonerated and declared
officially innocent of the
crime that resulted in several
decades of incarceration.
They are now entitled to
receive compensation from
the state for the time they
spent incarcerated.
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
On May 7, 2015, Jackson,
Bridgeman, Ajamu, OIP
staff attorney Brian Howe
and OIP Director Mark
Godsey received the Rose
Elizabeth Bird Commitment
to Justice Award at the 24th
Annual Death Penalty Focus
Awards. (See story on page
4.) Jackson, Bridgeman and
Ajamu spent several years
on death row before Ohio’s
death penalty was ruled
unconstitutional.
Wheatt, Glover
and Johnson
In March 2015, Cuyahoga
County Judge Nancy Russo
threw out the 1996 murder
convictions of Derrick Wheatt,
Laurese Glover and Eugene
Johnson, granting each man a
new trial.
Wheatt, Glover and
Johnson were convicted of
the 1995 shooting death of
19-year-old Clifton Hudson.
Their convictions were
based on three things: 1)
an identification made by
14-year-old Tamika Harris,
2) faulty scientific evidence
involving gunshot residue
(GSR) and 3) the presence of
the three teenagers near the
scene of the murder.
A decade later Harris
admitted that she did not
actually see the faces of
the men who shot Hudson.
In 2009, OIP filed a motion
for new trial based on
the recantation and new
information debunking the
prosecution’s GSR evidence.
Unfortunately the motion
was denied.
Four years later, OIP
got a break in the case
when, in 2013, it obtained
police reports containing
exculpatory information
that was withheld during
trial. The reports included
information that was not
raised at the original trial,
including the existence of
two witnesses who confirmed
that the shooter came from
a nearby post-office lot, not
the defendants’ truck. One of
those witnesses even claimed
he recognized the shooter
as a sibling of one of his
classmates.
The reports also showed
that unknown people in a
different car had shot at the
victim’s brother just days
before the crime and that
someone had threatened
the victim himself the day
before the murder. No known
connection between any
of those threats and the
defendants existed.
The OIP filed another new
trial motion on the basis that
this information was never
disclosed to the defense. On
March 26, after reviewing
the evidence, Judge Russo
granted the motion and threw
out the murder convictions.
Glover, Wheatt and Johnson
were released that day after
making bail. The men served
18 years for the crime they did
not commit and spent their
entire adult lives incarcerated.
The OIP represented
defendants Wheatt and
Glover; attorneys Brett
Murner and Jim Valentine
represented Johnson.
Additionally, co-counsel on
this case was Carmen Naso,
senior instructor of law, and
law students at the Milton
A. Kramer Law Clinic, Case
Western Reserve School of
Law in Cleveland, Ohio.
Ricky Jackson Impacts OIP Students,
Inspires Them to Get Involved
Past and present fellows react to hearing
Ricky Jackson speak at UC
Stephen Otte, current fellow: “After hearing
Ricky tell his story, I felt inspired. It was
empowering. I knew right then that I
wanted to work for OIP. That I wanted to
do something that significant.”
Kathryn Lucas, current fellow: “I was struck
by Ricky’s mental strength, how he was
able to persevere and not let his spirit
break through 39 years of imprisonment.”
Rebecca Brizzolara, current fellow: “Ricky is such a good person. He holds no
grudges and refuses to dwell on things. He is so positive and has such a good
sense of humor.”
Brian Howe, OIP staff attorney, ’08-09 fellow: “I know
that innocent people accept guilty pleas with
time served. Ricky, for instance, was in shackles
with a high likelihood of dying in prison when
he had to make the decision: ‘Are you willing to
gamble with what’s left of your life based only on
principle?’ He did. And he won.”
Catlin Wells, ’14-15 fellow: “I watched Ricky
Jackson walk out of jail. Surrounded by a sea of
microphones, he shrugged off questions about
systematic injustice and the 12-year-old whose
testimony led to his incarceration. ‘I’m just glad
to be out. I’m glad to be free.’ A few hours later, Dayton exoneree Dean Gillispie
looked at Ricky, gestured towards a line of exonerees and said, ‘We’ll take care of
you. You’re our brother now. You’re one of us.’
“My job is not about accumulating credentials, but about a man who, after
almost four decades in jail, had the compassion to forgive the kid who put him
there. It’s about Dean, his line of brothers and the other innocent men and women
who still sit behind bars waiting until they too can throw their hands up and say,
‘I’m free.’”
From the left — OIP exonerees: Robert McClendon, Ricky Jackson, (attorney) Brian Howe ’10, Ray
Towler, Dean Gillispie and Clarence Elkins
University of Cincinnati College of Law
21
OIP Honor Roll of Donors
January 1, 2012-September 30, 2015
Professor Marjorie Aaron and
David H. Aaron, PhD
David B. Alden
Andrew C. Allen
Eli Amstadter
Marty Anderson
Dr. and Mrs. David B. Argo
Mary Armor
Timothy Armstrong and
Eisha Tierney Armstrong
Susan G. Arruda
Joyce W. Asfour
Martin R. Baach
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Barrett
Honorable Michael R. Barrett
Amira Beer
Pat Daulton Belanoff, PhD
Gregory Bell and Kathleen
Conway Bell
Jennie Rosenthal Berliant and
Allan Berliant
James A. Berns
Professor Marianna B. Bettman
Jeanne Bishop
Mrs. Helen C. Black
Marnie C. Black Steve and Susan Black
BRG Apartments
Kathleen and George Brinkman
Miss Agnes M. Brockman
Deborah Brooks
The Otto M. Budig Family
Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Steven M. Bulloff
Mr. and Mrs. Steven C. Burgess
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy M. Burke
J. Philip Calabrese and Mary
Rebecca Bynum
Camden Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Campbell
Michael T. Cappel
Judith L. and Daniel P. Carmichael
Alexander H. Caron
Andrew B. Cassady
Donald R. Caster
Alan H. Channing
Dean Emeritus Jay Chatterjee
Gabriel J. Chin
Cincinnati Bar Association
Honorable Margaret A. Clark and
Mr. Patrick Hornschemeier
Jason M. Cohen
Lauren Chesley Cohen
Megan R. Collard
Interested in Donating?
Donate by mobile phone: www.uc.edu/give
(Specify OIP under “other.”)
Donate online: www.uc.edu/give
(Select OIP from the dropdown menu.)
Donate by calling OIP at 513-556-0752.
Leslie C. Blade
Lucas Blocher
Laura A. Bolduc
Bill and Mary Bonansinga
Mr. and Mrs. Keith G. Bootes
James D. Brady
Joseph A. Brant
Professor Kimberly M. Breedon
Dr. Craig J. Brenner
22
Ohio Innocence Project
Joseph A. Conway, PhD
The Ruth J. and Robert A.
Conway Foundation
Margaret M. Conway
David M. Cook
Barbara A. Cook-Hamp
Deborah K. Cooper
Cors & Bassett, LLC
Ashley N. Couch
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
Mr. and Mrs. John A. Courter
Dena and John Cranley
Jay and Susan Cranley
Grace I. Crary-Kearney
Robert D. Cribbin
Mr. Robert F. Croskery and
Ms. Melinda E. Knisley
Scott J. Crowley
Edla Cusick
Levi J. Daly
Mrs. Donna W. Dansker and
Emil Dansker, PhD
Jennifer and Eric Dauer
Louis M. Dauner
Lisa B. David
Rajah B. David
Nathaniel D. Davis Foundation
Kathy Daw
Alison A. De Villiers
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Dehner
Anne and Ron DeLyons
Angela Denov and Mr. Jonathon
C. Blickenstaff
Cynthia Dewar
Mr. and Mrs. David B. Dillon
DNA Diagnostics Center
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel F. Dodd
Charles F. Dorfman
Shirley A. Duffy
James B. Dworkin, PhD
John W. Eilers, Jr.
Clarence and Molly Elkins
Katherine Elwood
Hubert A. & Gladys C. Estabrook
Trust
Richard F. Evans
Irene M. Ewing
Robert and Karen Faaborg
Kelly Farrish, Jr.
Priscilla Faux
Federal Bar Association
Richard Fencl
E. Thomas Fernandez
Frederick A. Fink
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23
Grooming a New Life
Litigation Update on
Kevin Thornton
by Deb Rieselman
by Deb Rieselman
Courts rule new evidence likely to have led jury
to different verdict, but too late now
OIP gives Nancy Smith a dog-grooming career,
which puts her on a path of peace and joy
In 1994, when Nancy Smith
was unjustly locked behind
bars for nearly 15 years, her
worst pain came from being separated
from loved ones — four children and a
fiancé. Family members watched over
the 12- to 18-year-olds, but Smith missed
two graduations, two marriages, a
divorce, the birth of eight grandchildren,
being able to marry her fiancé and her
daughter’s grief over stillborn twins.
Her heart ached to celebrate with
them, cry with them and simply hold
them. When the Ohio Innocence Project
helped free her in 2009, she finally got to
cry in their arms.
Of course, she had to get to know
them all over again, but everyone was
patient. That’s the miracle that can
bloom with love and constant faith in
God, she says.
“There were times I got angry at
God,” she admits. “But I never lost that
faith and hope. I refused to let my life
drift off from God.”
In prison, Smith painted a
meaningful work that continues to
comfort her — a Michelangelo-inspired
piece that resembles the Sistine Chapel’s
“Creation of Adam.” “I always had to
remember that God was only a fingertip
away,” she explains. “This was truly my
24
Ohio Innocence Project
strength in that dark and lonely place. It
took me 141/2 years to realize that I was
never alone.”
In 1993, Smith had been totally
shocked when she was arrested on
charges of molesting preschoolers
(age 3 and 4) who rode on the Head Start
bus she drove. Her case was part of what
is now known as the “Daycare Hysteria
Cases,” where copycat molestation
allegations were made at daycares
across the country after a story aired
on 60 Minutes about molestation
that had allegedly occurred at a daycare
in California.
In the California case, the families
of the children were awarded large
settlements, and similar claims soon
arose across the country. It is now known
that many of the individuals convicted
were innocent victims. Like in other
cases, Nancy Smith’s accusers obtained
large cash settlements from Head Start
after she was declared guilty.
The OIP and others amassed
evidence over the years that proved that
Nancy Smith was innocent. This evidence
included records which showed that
Nancy was at her other job on the day
the molestation allegedly took place,
and evidence — including video
evidence — showing that the children
had been coached and told what to say
by their parents.
The evidence of Nancy’s innocence
was detailed in a “Dateline NBC” episode
that aired on April 9, 2012. Haunted
Memories (Parts 1-6) are available at
http://goo.gl/2i1iaX.
In 2009, a new judge ruled that
Nancy was innocent and acquitted her.
At that point, she was released. That
decision was later overturned by the
Ohio Supreme Court on jurisdictional
grounds (the Ohio Supreme Court did
Second Edition OIP REVIEW
not challenge the trial court’s finding
that she was acquitted, but merely held
the trial court did not have jurisdiction
to reopen the case). But the prosecutors,
fortunately, recognizing the problems
with the case, agreed to drop the
remaining charges against Nancy so that
she could remain free.
Regaining a normal life was difficult.
”I stayed away from crowds,” she says.
“I was afraid someone would recognize
me. I refused to look at cops because I
don’t trust them.
“I babysat for my daughters, which
was safe. I didn’t have to go out into
public and deal with anybody.”
In 2014, she realized that although
she had been free for nearly six years, she
had remained in her own prison. “I had
no social life. I was stuck. I needed to get
a job and get on with my life.”
After praying about it, she decided
she wanted to be a dog groomer, but
financing the education and equipment
was a problem. Once again, OIP took
care of her, helping pay for her education
and equipment through the Phoenix
Initiative, a sub-component of OIP that
helps exonerees get back on their feet.
Last fall, she became certified and is
working at Amherst Animal Hospital. “I
love it,” she says excitedly. “It gets easier
every time.”
Something else is getting easier —
being in public.
“I’ve come a long way,” she says
with a quiet sense of pride. “I like being
out amongst adult people. We have a
little concert area in town where I would
never go, but I’ve gone a few times now.
“I’m finally coming into my peace of
mind since I started dog grooming.”
In 2007, Kevin Thornton was convicted of robbing a checkcashing store in Milford, Ohio. After an investigation, the Ohio
Innocence Project asked the trial court in 2010 to overturn his
conviction, as two crucial pieces of evidence proved he had not
committed the crime.
That evidence consisted of 1) photogrammetric analysis
of the store’s video surveillance, which proved that Kevin was
too tall by four inches to have been the perpetrator, and 2)
the results of DNA testing conducted on the zip-ties used to
bind the hands and feet of the cashier. While the trial court
agreed that had the evidence been presented at trial, the jury
probably would have reached a different verdict, the court
also unfortunately ruled that it was procedurally barred from
considering this evidence and declined to grant relief because,
the court believed, the evidence of innocence could have been
presented at Thornton’s original trial. The Twelfth District Court
of Appeals affirmed, and the Ohio Supreme Court, over the
dissent of two justices, declined to hear the case.
On Kevin’s behalf, OIP has now sought habeas relief in
federal court. Based on language in recent U.S. Supreme Court
decisions, OIP also filed an additional post-conviction petition
in state court based on Kevin’s actual innocence. The OIP has
asked the Ohio Supreme Court to hear an appeal regarding
the lower courts’ refusal to grant relief on this claim. In the
meantime, the habeas case is pending before the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Kevin Thornton has been proven innocent but remains
behind bars. “OIP will not give up on Kevin’s case despite the
refusal of the courts thus far to do anything about it,” OIP
director Mark Godsey says. “We will see that someday he can
walk free as an exonerated man.”
Seven
years
and counting...
Six years
Five years
Four years
Three years
Two years
One year
University of Cincinnati College of Law
25
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PAID
Cincinnati, Ohio
Permit No. 133
UC College of Law
Ohio Innocence Project
P.O. Box 210040
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040
Address Service Requested
Cases from 14
Different Counties
Being Reviewed
The OIP is currently reviewing cases of
inmates housed in 14 state correctional
institutions. Their cases come from 14
Ohio counties.
As a result of the wide distribution of
inmates and cases around the state, OIP
fellows and staff spend many hours reading
and writing letters and speaking with
inmates about their cases.
Prior to actively taking on a case, the OIP
staff and fellows will meet the inmate in
person to discuss the case, the plan for
litigation and all expectations of the case.
For more information, connect with us online:
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