Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Supreme Court of Kentucky Holds Subsequent Remedial Measure Rule Can Apply in Criminal Cases
Similar to its federal counterpart, Kentucky Rule of Evidence 407 provides that
When, after an event, measures are taken which, if taken previously, would have made an injury or harm allegedly caused by the event less likely to occur, evidence of the subsequent measures is not admissible to prove negligence, culpable conduct, a defect in a product, a defect in a product's design, or a need for a warning or instruction. This rule does not require the exclusion of evidence of subsequent measures when offered for another purpose, such as proving ownership, control, or feasibility of precautionary measures, if controverted, or impeachment.
It is clear that Rule 407 applies in civil cases, but does it apply in criminal cases? As I've noted before, courts are split on the issue. Now, the Supreme Court of Kentucky has weighed in on the issue.
June 20, 2023 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, June 2, 2023
Undisclosed Mega-Update Thread 13
Yesterday, prosecutors dropped murder charges against Jeff Titus in connection with the deaths of Doug Estes and Jim Bennett. Now, Titus has been completely cleared of any wrongdoing in the case after 22 years of wrongful conviction. Given this terrific turn of events, I wanted to do an update on the status of all of the cases we covered on Undisclosed.
Total cases covered: 27 cases.
Relief granted: 19 cases: 14 exonerations: (1) Shaurn Thomas; (2) Terrance Lewis; (3) Willie Veasy; (4) Chester Hollman III; (5) Charles Ray Finch; (6) Theophalis Wilson; (7) Jonathan Irons; (8) Dennis Perry; (9) Ronnie Long; (10) Joseph Webster; (11) Darrell Ewing; (12) Joey Watkins; (13) Adnan Syed; and (14) Jeff Titus; 2 stays of execution: (1) Marcellus Williams; and (2) William Montgomery. 1 commutation: Cyntoia Brown. 1 grant of parole: Cyrus Wilson. 1 vacated conviction/Alford plea: Wayne Braddy and Karl Willis.
Currently pending: 6 cases. (1) Pedro Reynoso's CIU petition; (2) Fred Freeman/Temujin Kensu's CIU petition; (3) John Brookins's DNA petition; (4) Pam Lanier's motion for a new trial; (5) Jamar Huggins's PCR petition; and (6) Greg Lance's DNA/fingerprint testing.
New appeals expected soon: 1 case: Jason Carroll
Options being explored: 1 case: Rocky Myers
1. Adnan Syed
Adnan Syed was convicted of the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee (Undisclosed series). On September 19, 2022, Judge Melissa Phinn vacated his conviction and set him free. Subsequently, on October 11, 2022, Baltimore prosecutors dropped all charges against him. Hae Minn Lee's family appealed Judge Phinn's order. In a 2-1 ruling in March 2023, the Appellate Court of Maryland reinstated Adnan's conviction, but issuance of that mandate has been stayed while Adnan appeals to the Supreme Court of Maryland. Therefore, Adnan's conviction has not been reinstated yet. The next steps in the case are (1) seeing whether the Supreme Court of Maryland agrees to hear/reverses the lower court's opinion; and, if that fails (2) holding a new hearing in the Brady issue that initially led to Adnan's exoneration, with sufficient notice to Hae Min Lee's family.
2. Joey Watkins
Joey Watkins was convicted of the 2000 murder of Isaac Dawkins (Undisclosed series). Judge Don W. Thompson of the Superior Court of Walker County granted Joey Watkins's petition for writ of habeas corpus on April 11, 2022, meaning that Joey's conviction for murdering Isaac Dawkins has been tossed. The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld that ruling.
3. Jamar Huggins
The one witness to implicate Jamar Huggins in a home invasion in Conway, South Carolina in 2014 has since recanted and named the actual person who committed the crime (Undisclosed series). The initial claim was that this was "new evidence" allowing for a new trial. But the Circuit Court found this recantation was known and not used by trial counsel. That decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals of South Carolina. This was all expected and sets up a pretty compelling argument for ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Jamar has an evidentiary hearing on that claim scheduled for May 2023.
4. Marcellus Williams
Marcellus Williams was convicted of the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle. Governor Eric Greitens stayed Marcellus Williams's execution in August 2017 (Undisclosed special episode). He also appointed a Board of Inquiry to review his case. That Board has not yet issued its report.
5. Shaurn Thomas
Shaurn Thomas was convicted of the 1990 murder of Domingo Martinez (Undisclosed series). In March 2017, the Conviction Integrity Unit in Philadelphia threw out Shaurn Thomas's conviction. Philadelphia officials later agreed to pay him $4.15 million.
6. Willie Veasy
Willie Veasy was convicted of the 1992 murder of John Lewis (Undisclosed series). On October 9, 2019, a judge vacated his conviction, and the State later dropped the charges against him due to compelling evidence of his innocence. Willie ultimately settled with the State for $5 million.
7. Terrance Lewis
Terrance Lewis was convicted of the murder of Hulon Bernard Howard in 1996. Judge Barbara McDermott declared Terrance innocent in May 2019, leading to his release from prison (Undisclosed series). On June 30, 2020, it was announced that he had reached a settlement in which the city would pay him $6.25 million. Terrance has since started the Terrance Lewis Foundation, "a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for wrongfully convicted people who are seeking legal representation."
8. Chester Hollman III
Chester Hollman III was convicted of the 1991 murder of Tae Jung Ho (Undisclosed series). On July 15, 2019, he was released based on a finding that Hollman was innocent, and all charges against him were subsequently dropped on July 30th. Subsequently, on December 30, 2020, a settlement was reached, pursuant to which Chester Hollman III will be awarded $9.8 million for his 28 years of wrongful conviction.
9. Cyntoia Brown
Cyntoia Brown was convicted of the 2004 murder and robbery of Johnny Michael Allen (Undisclosed special episode). Governor Bill Haslam granted Cyntoia Brown clemency, and she was released August 7, 2019.
10. Ronnie Long
Long was convicted of the 1976 rape of Gray Bost (Undisclosed series). In August, 2020, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina entered an order vacating Ronnie Long's convictions for first-degree rape and burglary. In September 2020, he was released from prison. On December 17, 2020 North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a Pardon of Innocence for Ronnie Long, making him eligible for $750,000 in compensation. On May 3, 2021, Long filed a civil action, seeking additional compensation for his decades of wrongful conviction.
11. William Montgomery
William Montgomery was convicted of the 1986 murder of Debra Ogle (Undisclosed special addendum interview). Governor John Kasich commuted William's death sentence to a life without parole sentence in March 2018.
12. Pamela Lanier
Pam Lanier was convicted of the 1997 murder of her husband Dorian (Undisclosed series). Pam's team at Wake Forest has filed motion for a new trial based on new scientific evidence that Pam's husband died from arsenic poisoning based on ingesting turkey medication rather than being poisoned by her. A hearing that was scheduled for June 27, 2022 was postponed.
13. Dennis Perry
Dennis Perry was convicted of the 1985 murders of Harold and Thelma Swain (Undisclosed series). In April 2020, it was reported that glasses likely left at the crime scene by the killer had hairs that returned a DNA match for alternate suspect Erik Sparre. A hearing on Dennis's motion for extraordinary relief was held on July 13, 2020. The result of that hearing was Dennis Perry being granted a new trial. On July 23, 2020, he was released from prison. Legislators in Georgia recently cleared legislation that "would pay 60-year-old Dennis Perry $1.23 million for the 20 years he spent in state custody."
14. Charles Ray Finch
Charles Ray Finch was convicted of the 1976 murder of Richard Holloman (Undisclosed special episode). The Fourth Circuit first found that Charles Ray Finch had proven his "actual innocence." Then, a federal district court granted his habeas petition and set him free in May 2019. Finch recently died in January.
On June 16, 2021, Governor Roy Cooper issued a Pardon of Innocence for Finch.
15. Rocky Myers
Rocky Myers was convicted of murdering Ludie Mae Tucker in 1991 and given a death sentence as a result of judicial override, despite the jury voting 9-3 for a life sentence. As a result, it is difficult to see a path toward exoneration in the courts. That said, we hope that his death sentence can be commuted to a life sentence due to the use of judicial override in his case, and we also hope that we can convince Governor Kay Ivey to stay execution if and when that execution is scheduled (Undisclosed series).
16. Joseph Webster
Joseph Webster was convicted of the 1998 murder of Leroy Owens (Undisclosed series). Webster was exonerated after a judge agreed with the Davidson County Conviction Review Unit that he was wrongfully convicted, and he was released on November 10, 2020. Based on a GoFundMe fundraiser, Joseph will be able to move into his own apartment.
17. Cyrus Wilson
Cyrus Wilson was convicted of the 1992 murder of Christopher Luckett (Undisclosed special episode). On October 23, 2019, he was granted parole by the Tennessee Board of Parole.
18. Greg Lance
Greg Lance was convicted of the murders of Victor and Alla Kolesnikow in 1998 (Undisclosed series). On December 16, 2022, a Tennessee judge approved DNA testing of crime scene evidence as well as fingerprint testing of a battery found in a flashlight connected to the crime.
19. Pedro Reynoso
Pedro Reynoso was convicted of the 1991 murders of Charles Rivera and Carlos Torres (Undisclosed special episode). In December, the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons voted to hold his case under advisement to determine if they are allowed to consider actual innocence claims. His case is also being reviewed by Philadelphia's Conviction Integrity Unit.
20. Theophalis Wilson
Theophalis Wilson was convicted of the 1989 murders of Otis Reynolds, Gavin Anderson, and Kevin Anderson (Undisclosed special episode). On January 21, 2020, a judge declared him innocent of these murders and set him free. Earlier this year, Wilson filed a civil action seeking compensation for his decades of wrongful conviction.
21. Fred Freeman/Temujin Kensu
Fred Freeman was convicted of the murder of Scott Macklem in 1986 (Undisclosed series). His clemency request is on the desk of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
22. Jonathan Irons
Jonathan Irons was convicted of a burglary and shooting that occurred at the home of Stanley Stotler in O'Fallon, Missouri back in 1997 (Undisclosed series). On June 30, 2020, the Supreme Court of Missouri refused to hear the State's appeal from Judge Daniel Green's opinion granting Jonathan Irons a new trial. On July 1, 2020, Jonathan was released from prison. The following day, the prosecutor announced that he would not take Jonathan's case back to trial. Jonathan was then released from prison. On March 8, 2021, Irons filed a civil action seeking compensation for his decades of wrongful conviction.
23. John Brookins
John Brookins was convicted of the 1990 murder of Sheila Ginsberg (Undisclosed series). John is currently appealing the denial of his DNA petition.
Jeff Titus was convicted of the 1990 murders of Doug Estes and James Bennett in the Fulton State Game Area in Kalamazoo County (Undisclosed series). Earlier this year, a federal judge signed an order releasing Jeff Titus from prison and granting him a new trial. As noted above, yesterday, prosecutors dropped the charges against him.
25. Darrell Ewing
Darrell Ewing was convicted of the 2009 murder of J.B. Watson in Detroit, Michigan (Undisclosed series). Ewing was eventually granted a new trial based upon jury misconduct, and the State ran out of appeals for that ruling on March 2, 2021. The State is currently trying to take Ewing's case back to trial.
26. Jason Carroll
Jason Carroll was convicted of the July 1988 murder of Sharon Johnson in New Hampshire (Undisclosed series). Appellate options are currently being explored, and his case will be covered on the Bear Brook podcast.
27. Wayne Braddy and Karl Willis
Karl Willis and Wayne Braddy were convicted of the murder Maurice Purifie on June 15, 1998 in Toledo, Ohio (Undisclosed series). While their latest appeal was pending, the prosecutor offered a deal in which their convictions would be vacated in exchange for Alford pleas. In March, Willis and Braddy accepted this deal and were released.
-CM
June 2, 2023 | Permalink | Comments (2)
