Cuyahoga County Conviction was Against the Manifest Weight of the Evidence
It is rare to find a conviction reversed because it is "against the manifest weight of the evidence." That is because a conviction should be reversed on this basis "in only the rare case in which the evidence weighs heavily against the conviction." When this happens, the jury has "clearly lost its way" in convicting the defendant.
The Eighth District Court of Appeals for Cuyahoga County just reversed a conviction that was against the manifest weight of the evidence. The Court found "[t]he record lacks consistent, credible evidence to support the jury's verdict that appellant was guilty of aggravated robbery and aggravated murder." Only two witnesses linked the defendant to the crime scene, neither of them saw the appellant with a gun that night, and nobody saw the defendant/appellant shoot the victim.
To get the conviction, the prosecutor relied on speculation by one of the two witnesses who linked the defendant to the crime scene. The prosecutor also misled the jury by arguing that a witness testified to things she never said on the witness stand. The Court found that the prosecutor "crossed a line" and deprived the defendant of a fair trial.
Read the decision in State v. Williams, 2011-Ohio-5483, here.
If you are accused of a crime or have been convicted already, contact me if you can afford to hire a private criminal defense lawyer. Otherwise, contact your county or state public defender to see if they can help.
Contact me 24/7 by sending an email to ohiocriminalappealslawyer@gmail.com
