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01.23.12
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Consider State’s Appeal
in Joe D’Ambrosio Case
Case Marks Sixth Ohio Death Row Exoneration
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the
state of Ohio’s appeal against Joe D’Ambrosio, who spent 21 years
incarcerated for a murder he maintains he did not commit. The Court’s
ruling officially exonerates Mr. D’Ambrosio, making him the sixth Ohioan
and 140th person nationwide released from death row. Previously, a federal
district court judge and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Mr.
D’Ambrosio must be released after widespread prosecutorial misconduct
was uncovered.
“Six exonerations represent six lives that could have been wrongly ended
by grave miscarriages of justice,” said ACLU of Ohio Executive Director
Christine Link, ”Joe D’Ambrosio’s case illustrates the
unfortunate reality that the criminal justice system is not always fair or
just—and that we simply cannot allow the death penalty in such a flawed
system.”
In 2006, former U.S. District Court Judge Kate O’Malley overturned
D’Ambrosio’s conviction after ruling Cuyahoga County prosecutors
withheld 10 pieces of key evidence from D’Ambrosio’s lawyers. The
case later became a rallying point for activists to successfully change Ohio
court rules to require open discovery of evidence between prosecutors and
defense attorneys.
“The scales of justice should be balanced, but it was clear that
prosecutors unfairly tipped the case in their favor. Ohioans deserve a justice
system that focuses on discovering the truth, rather than allowing competition
between the prosecution and defense to drive cases,” added Link.
“As Cuyahoga County residents go to the polls in March to vote for a
new county prosecutor, they should challenge candidates to address how they
would work to prevent this from occurring again.”
Current Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced he will step down in
2012 after taking office in 1999. Mason was not Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
when D’Ambrosio was originally tried, but represented the county in
subsequent appeals.
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor convened a death
penalty study commission in October 2011 to examine issues surrounding
fairness. Previous studies conducted by the Associated Press and American
Bar Association have raised serious questions regarding how the death penalty
is applied in Ohio. Both studies found disparities in death penalty sentences
based on the race of the victim and offender, economic class, and geography
of where the crime occurred. The ABA study also noted significant concerns
with the quality of defense many defendants receive in capital punishment
cases.
“Joe D’Ambrosio’s exoneration is just another in a long line
of reasons why Ohio would be further ahead scrapping the death penalty
altogether. We cannot allow a person to be wrongfully executed, and our justice
system is simply too flawed to be confident that will not happen,”
concluded Link.
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View the ACLU of Ohio Death Penalty page.
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