Ross County death row inmate loses latest appeal
A Ross County death row inmate whose latest appeal found a glimmer of hope almost four years ago saw that hope dimmed Thursday.
The Sixth District U.S. Court of Appeals filed its decision Thursday to deny Lawrence Landrum's claims for relief from his conviction and death sentence. Landrum was convicted in the Sept. 19, 1985, murder of 84-year-old Harold White Sr. in White's apartment, and the decision Thursday moves him a step closer to an appearance in Ohio's death chamber in Lucasville.
Landrum, 49, who lost his initial appeal in 1989 after claiming there were 29 errors in his trial that led to his conviction, was asking the Sixth District appellate court to uphold a state court's ruling to grant him a new trial based on eight claims tied to errors in the original trial court, other courts in the appeals process and ineffective representation of his own defense counsel. Prosecutors took the case to the appellate court after the state court's ruling.
His claims included:
# His trial attorney's performance was deficient in the trial phase, which created a prejudice against Landrum.
# The trial court made an error when it did not give Grant Swackhammer -- a 14-year-old who was in the apartment with Landrum and initially struck White six times in the head with a large railroad bolt -- immunity. Without granting immunity, it allowed Swackhammer to claim his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and avoid providing testimony that Landrum thought could have helped his case.
# The district court made an error when it denied Landrum's motion to add the affidavit of homicide reconstruction expert Wayne Hill to the case record.
# The trial court made an error in the sentencing phase when it excluded specific testimony about Landrum's role in the killing.
# The Ohio Supreme Court erred by "reweighing" testimony that was never admitted into evidence.
# The trial court made an error by denying defense counsel's repeated requests for a continuance in proceedings.
# The defense counsel performed poorly in the mitigation phase of proceedings, which prejudiced the case against Landrum.
# Landrum did not receive the benefit of a reasonably competent expert in the mitigation phase.
Among the claims that elicited a large amount of discussion in the court's opinion was that Landrum's defense counsel was ineffective because it did not offer the anticipated testimony of Rameal Coffenberger during the guilt phase of the trial.
"Landrum argues that Coffenberger would have testified that Swackhammer had confessed to him that it was actually Swackhammer who cut White's throat," the opinion from the court indicates.
The district court had found that Landrum's attorney's belief the testimony would be considered hearsay and, therefore, would not have been let into evidence if presented, did constitute a deficient performance. Because Landrum had failed to raise the issue at the appropriate steps in the appeals process, however, the Sixth District court rejected his ability to raise the issue now.
Several of the other claims also were similarly rejected by the federal court because of "procedural default."
No execution date is listed on the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections offender website at the present time.
More;www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20101105/NEWS01/11050305/Ross-County-death-row-inmate-loses-latest-appealIncludes CASE TIMELINE
