Joe D'Ambrosio

[thinkinkmesa]

Joe D'Ambrosio website.
Innocent on Ohio's Death Row.
joedambrosio.blogspot.com

[thinkinkmesa]

6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals orders new trial for death-row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio; Vital evidence withheld, court says

Friday, June 06, 2008
Damian G. Guevara
Plain Dealer Reporter

A Cleveland man who has spent nearly two decades on death row must be given a new trial or be let out of prison, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The three-judge panel agreed with a ruling made in 2006 by U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley that Joe D'Ambrosio is entitled to a new trial because prosecutors withheld several pieces of crucial evidence that could have exonerated him.

Turning over the evidence would probably have resulted in a different verdict for D'Ambrosio, who was found guilty and sentenced to death after a trial in 1989, the court said in its opin ion.

Supporters of D'Ambrosio, 47, hailed Thurs day's decision by the 6th U.S. Cir cuit Court of Ap peals and called on prosecutors to release him from a state prison near Youngstown.

"We're hoping the state does the right thing," said John Lewis, part of a team of lawyers from the firm of Jones Day that is representing D'Ambrosio for free. "In our view, the evidence that was withheld shows D'Ambrosio did not commit this crime."

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, through a representative, said he is still considering whether to appeal the decision or retry the case. "We're disappointed in the ruling," Mason said in the prepared statement.

D'Ambrosio says he was wrongly convicted for the 1988 murder of Tony Klann, 19. Klann was found dead in Doan Brook, stabbed in his chest and with his throat slashed.

Following a weeklong hearing in 2004, O'Malley ruled that prosecutors withheld 10 pieces of evidence that could have helped exonerate D'Ambrosio and should have been turned over to the defense under court rules.

In one instance, prosecutors did not tell D'Ambrosio's lawyer that the man who accused D'Ambrosio of the murder had his own motive for killing Klann. The man, Paul Lewis, was charged in a rape case in which Klann was the only witness.

Also, defense attorneys were not told that the two homicide detectives investigating the case believed Klann was killed elsewhere and then dumped in Doan Brook. That directly contradicted the testimony of Eddie Espinoza, the state's only eyewitness. Espinoza pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served a reduced sentence - 12 years - for his testimony.

"The most telling piece of evidence was from the police officers," John Lewis said. "These are police officers who came willingly to a hearing and testified that they did not believe the crime was committed where [Espinoza] said the crime occurred."

Shortly after Klann's body was found on Sept. 24, 1988, Paul Lewis pointed investigators to D'Ambrosio, Thomas "Michael" Keenan and Espinoza, who worked together landscaping.

The three were looking for Lewis because Keenan believed Lewis had stolen drugs from him. Espinoza later testified that they found Klann in Little Italy and forced him into their truck because they thought Klann could lead them to Lewis.

Espinoza testified during the 1989 trial that the men drove to Doan Brook, where Keenan slit Klann's throat and pushed him into the creek. Klann begged for his life and tried to escape, but D'Ambrosio caught him and killed him, Espinoza testified.

However, detectives said they found no blood on the creek bed, signs of a struggle or tire marks leading to the creek.

At the time of the murder, Lewis faced charges for raping Klann's roommate. Klann was the only witness subpoenaed to testify against Lewis.

Ralph DeFranco, D'Ambrosio's lawyer in the murder trial, testified that prosecutors never told him about the rape case. Former Assistant County Prosecutor Carmen Marino knew about Lewis' rape case but did not inform DeFranco, as he was obligated to do, O'Malley said in her order two years ago for a new trial.

O'Malley said in that ruling that defense lawyers could have crafted a different strategy had they known about the case.

The appeals court Thursday upheld O'Malley's ruling and concurred that D'Ambrosio would probably not have been found guilty if the evidence had been turned over.

The state can ask that the ruling be reconsidered by the whole appellate court. The state can also petition the U.S. Supreme Court. Neither body is obligated to hear the case, John Lewis said.

D'Ambrosio is likely to remain jailed during the appeals process. He has remained in prison since O'Malley initially ruled in March 2006 that he deserved a new trial.

[pebbles]

Thanks for posting this.. I can't seem to keep up with such things since returning to full time work I know Joe is a good friend of Brett's. Let's hope Joe sees his freedom real soon!

[thinkinkmesa]

Jun 6, 2008 21:19:45 GMT -5 pebbles said:

Thanks for posting this.. I can't seem to keep up with such things since returning to full time work I know Joe is a good friend of Brett's. Let's hope Joe sees his freedom real soon!

It is a truly wonderful thing when one of the men we believe to be innocent receives such a hopeful ruling. Now if Brett could also receive something on the hidden evidence in his case...

[pebbles]

Jun 9, 2008 11:26:17 GMT -5 thinkinkmesa said:

Jun 6, 2008 21:19:45 GMT -5 pebbles said:

Thanks for posting this.. I can't seem to keep up with such things since returning to full time work I know Joe is a good friend of Brett's. Let's hope Joe sees his freedom real soon!

It is a truly wonderful thing when one of the men we believe to be innocent receives such a hopeful ruling. Now if Brett could also receive something on the hidden evidence in his case...

I sent Joe a card yesterday sending him my well wishes...
yeah if only!!! Something has got to give in regards to Brett's case.

[pebbles]

I received a lil letter from Joe today thanking me for my card and it's message. He is trying to not get his hopes up too much but said he has allowed himself to smile a little! Please keep Joe in your prayers everyone.

[thinkinkmesa]

You might be busy with work, but you are so much better at keeping on top of things like this. Joe's card is still sitting in this mess I call my desk. ..and I had to call Mom to ask her to let Brett know his card was going to be late...as usual. LOL

[pebbles]

Jun 28, 2008 1:44:38 GMT -5 thinkinkmesa said:

You might be busy with work, but you are so much better at keeping on top of things like this. Joe's card is still sitting in this mess I call my desk. ..and I had to call Mom to ask her to let Brett know his card was going to be late...as usual. LOL

haha.. if I didn't send it the day I found out the news... umm.. well the card would still be in my possession!! haha

Oh and a note on the blog website you have listed at the top, is not being maintained anymore it seems.

[pebbles]

Prosecutor to retry Joe D'Ambrosio, who spent 20 years on death row
Posted by Leila Atassi September 30, 2008 18:24PM

CLEVELAND - A Cleveland man who has spent nearly two decades on death row for a crime he says he did not commit will receive a new trial by early March.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason on Tuesday complied with a court order to retry Joe D'Ambrosio or set him free. D'Ambrosio was convicted in 1989 for the murder of 19-year-old Tony Klann.

A federal appeals court in June agreed with a ruling made in 2006 by U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley that D'Ambrosio is entitled to a new trial because prosecutors withheld several pieces of evidence that could have exonerated him.

The prosecutor also could have filed another appeal or petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. But Mason said he believes the evidence is strong enough to garner another conviction -- even two decades after the crime.

"Trying to resurrect a case that is 20 years old has inherent difficulties in recollecting evidence and tracking down witnesses," Mason said. "But we have five people who saw D'Ambrosio with a butcher knife pointed at Klann that night."

Klann was found dead in Doan Brook, with a slashed throat and multiple stab wounds to the chest.

The state's only witness to the murder, co-defendant Eddie Espinoza, testified during the trial that he and two other men took Klann to Doan Brook. Co-defendant Thomas Keenan slit Klann's throat and pushed him into the creek. Klann begged for his life and tried to escape, but D'Ambrosio caught him and killed him, Espinoza testified. The men had kidnapped Klann because they suspected one of his friends, Paul Lewis, had stolen drugs from them.

After Klann's body was found, Lewis pointed investigators to the three men who worked together landscaping. But Lewis faced charges for raping Klann's roommate and Klann was the only witness subpoenaed to testify against Lewis.

Lewis' potential motive to kill Klann was among 10 pieces of evidence that prosecutors withheld from D'Ambrosio's lawyer. Also, defense attorneys were not told that the two homicide detectives investigating the case believed Klann was killed elsewhere and then dumped in Doan Brook. This theory contradicts the testimony of Espinoza, who served a reduced sentence -- 12 years -- in exchange for testifying.

The appeals court agreed with O'Malley that D'Ambrosio probably would not have been found guilty if the evidence had been turned over

blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/09/cuyahoga_county_prosecutor_to.html

PS... it is interesting to read the comments that have been made as a result of this article.

[thinkinkmesa]

Joseph D'Ambrosio's freedom is 20 years overdue: Regina Brett
by Regina Brett/Plain Dealer Columnist
Friday February 27, 2009, 5:30 AM

Regina BrettIt's time to end this charade called justice.

The Cuyahoga County prosecutors just turned over four sealed pieces of evidence that were never given to Joseph D'Ambrosio's attorneys until now.

Unbelievable.

D'Ambrosio is sitting in jail waiting for a new trial because Cuyahoga County prosecutors botched his first trial in 1989 by hiding 10 pieces of evidence that could have exonerated him.

You'd think the prosecutors would have learned a lesson about open discovery.

Nope.

Last Friday, prosecutors filed a motion saying they had turned over all the evidence to the defense. Then four hours later -- oops! They came back with pieces of evidence that D'Ambrosio's attorneys had never seen.

The court learned of this a week before D'Ambrosio's new trial was to start.

The prosecutors retrieved the evidence from the Scientific Investigation Unit of the Cleveland Police Department located right there in the Justice Center -- the same building where the trial is to take place.

No folks, that last part wasn't a joke. That's truly where the evidence has been sitting.

What did they find?

Dirt collected from the crime scene at Doan's Creek where the body of Tony Klann was found.

A lab report saying that soil tested negative for human blood, which could back up the statement of two detectives who said the victim was killed elsewhere and moved to the creek -- which is pivotal to D'Ambrosio's claims of innocence.

The state's only "eyewitness" testified he saw D'Ambrosio kill Klann at the creek, so evidence showing Klann was murdered elsewhere would have disputed that testimony.

Also turned over were blood swabs from D'Ambrosio's apartment that were never tested for the victim's DNA, several lab reports of undetermined nature and a dirty boot imprint from a door.

All this has been sitting around for the last 20 years while D'Ambrosio sat on Death Row.

This week, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg set D'Ambrosio's bond at $50,000. D'Ambrosio is a suspect who is innocent until proven guilty.

County Prosecutor Bill Mason called Synenberg's decision unbelievable and appalling.

He should save his outrage for the mirror.

Mason told a reporter, "A week before trial and the judge lets him out. The facts of the case have been tried three times and each time the defendants were sentenced to the death penalty."

Not true. A week before trial, old evidence is produced. That means the facts of this case have never been tried.

Synenberg should be commended for protecting D'Ambrosio's right to a fair trial. She delayed the trial date, and wrote in a motion: "This court will not proceed with another unconstitutional trial."

Forget a new trial. The man has already served 20 years and we don't even know if he's guilty.

Back on Sept. 11, U.S. District Judge Kathleen O'Malley ordered the state to release D'Ambrosio or retry him within 180 days. A mere handful of days remain on that calendar.

It's time for Bill Mason to set Joseph D'Ambrosio free.

And it's time Mason looked around to see if anyone else's evidence is collecting dust before the eve of a trial. Or worse -- 20 years after a bogus one.

www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2009/02/joseph_dambrosios_freedom_is_2.html

[thinkinkmesa]

Bond set at $50,000 for Joseph D'Ambrosio, who has spent 20 years on death row
D'Ambrosio needs to make 10% of bond
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Patrick O'Donnell
Plain Dealer Reporter

On death row for 20 years, Joseph D'Ambrosio could be out of jail later this week.

The decision Tuesday by Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg to set D'Ambrosio's bond at $50,000 outraged prosecutors but was a relief to D'Ambrosio's supporters, who believe their friend has been denied a fair trial and wrongly imprisoned.

D'Ambrosio must post $5,000 -- 10 percent of his bond, which is standard -- to get out of jail. Supporters are raising money and working out details of where he will live.

Then he will remain under house arrest, with an electronic

bracelet strapped to his ankle, until the conclusion of the new trial he has been demanding for years. D'Ambrosio will once again face charges that he killed 19-year-old Tony Klann in 1988 and dumped his body in Doan Brook.

The trial is scheduled to begin Monday but might get postponed, lawyers said.

"This is unbelievable," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said. "A week before trial and the judge lets him out. The facts of the case have been tried three times and each time the defendants were sentenced to the death penalty. This is appalling."

Ronald Frey, a board member for the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the ruling - and new trial - are appropriate.

"While the allegations are obviously of the most severe sort, the man has been afforded a new trial. As such, he is presumed innocent," Frey said.

D'Ambrosio, 48, and a friend were convicted in 1989 of killing Klann in Cleveland Heights by slashing his throat and stabbing him in the chest. Both D'Ambrosio and Thomas Keenan were sentenced to death.

A federal judge ruled in 2006 that prosecutors withheld 10 key pieces of evidence from D'Ambrosio and his lawyers that might have exonerated him in the original case. U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley ordered a new trial.

Mason appealed, but an appeals court upheld the federal court ruling.

In the process, D'Ambrosio's case became a rallying point for those who call for "open discovery," where prosecutors must turn over all their statements, interviews and other evidence to defendants.

But Mason remains confident that prosecutors have enough evidence to once again convict D'Ambrosio.

Prosecutors argued Monday that D'Ambrosio should remain in jail because he had been convicted and is a flight risk. They also argued, according to Synenberg, that giving bail to a person on death row is unheard of.

Synenberg was not convinced.

"Mr. D'Ambrosio is not on death row," she snapped at prosecutors Tuesday, citing the recent court rulings that questioned the conviction.

The state constitution mandates bail unless proof of guilt is evident and there is a presumption of guilt, Synenberg said. Because O'Malley ruled D'Ambrosio would not likely have been convicted if evidence had not been withheld, she said neither of those conditions apply and he is constitutionally entitled to bail.

Assistant County Prosecutor Mark Mahoney noted that D'Ambrosio's new bond was significantly lower than the $200,000 bond set for the first trial in 1989.

D'Ambrosio was led out of court back to the Cuyahoga County Jail without any comment. His lawyer Jeffry Kelleher praised Synenberg for a "very appropriate decision."

"There's going to be no misadventures after he's released," Kelleher said.

Before D'Ambrosio is let out of jail, his lawyer and supporters must resolve where he will live until his new trial is concluded.

He applied for bail with plans to live with the Rev. Neil Kookoothe, pastor at St. Clarence Catholic Church in North Olmsted. Kookoothe ministers to death row inmates.

Synenberg ruled D'Ambrosio must remain under Kookoothe's supervision but Kelleher asked the judge to adjust her ruling. The Diocese of Cleveland could object to D'Ambrosio living on church property, Kelleher said.

Kookoothe attended the hearing but declined to talk afterward. A spokesman for the diocese declined to say if the church would object to D'Ambrosio living in the St. Clarence rectory.

Kelleher proposed instead having D'Ambrosio stay with Rosalie Lee, a Parma widow whose daughter contacted D'Ambrosio by mail when he was in prison. She traveled with her daughter to visit him in prison every week and remains D'Ambrosio's friend.

"I call him son and he calls me mom," said Lee. "He's a very good person."

D'Ambrosio's parents are both dead.

Synenberg declined to grant that change. Kelleher will have to apply again, then the county bond commissioner has a chance to visit Lee's apartment and determine if it is suitable.

Kelleher said they would probably wait to post bond until the judge approves Lee's apartment.

"We're not going to post bond just to have him walk into a problem," he said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[e-mail], 216-999-4818


www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1235554205274780.xml&coll=2

[guest]

Lawyers, prosecutors in Joe D'Ambrosio retrial fight over evidence; judge asked to step down

CLEVELAND -- Prosecutors went toe-to-toe Monday with defense attorneys and a judge in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, defending themselves against criticism that they turned over evidence too late to lawyers representing former death row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio.

During a contentious hearing in Judge Joan Synenberg's courtroom, prosecutors accused the judge of bias and D'Ambrosio's attorneys of being ill-prepared. The defendant's lawyers, prosecutors said, are using disputes over evidence to stall the trial, which was scheduled to begin Monday.

Prosecutors also asked the judge to remove herself from the case, citing a court record that lists the former defense lawyer as an attorney representing D'Ambrosio's co-defendant Thomas Keenan in Keenan's 1994 appeal.

Synenberg advised Assistant County Prosecutor David Zimmerman to file a written motion, outlining his argument that she be removed from the case. Although prosecutors conceded they didn't know the extent of Synenberg's involvement in the Keenan case, Zimmerman said he planned to file the motion today.

The state has one week left to try D'Ambrosio on charges that he and Keenan killed 19-year-old Tony Klann in 1988 and dumped his body in Doan Creek.

He was convicted of aggravated murder in 1989 and sentenced to death. But in 2006, a federal judge ruled that prosecutors withheld from D'Ambrosio and his lawyers 10 key pieces of evidence that might have exonerated him in the original case.

In September, U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley ordered a new trial to begin within 180 days.

Synenberg said she intends to ensure that D'Ambrosio's trial is fair and added that prosecutors have not been forthright in disclosing key evidence.

Defense lawyers said last week that they were unaware of some critical evidence until prosecutors brought it to their attention less than two weeks ago-- too late to be tested and used in preparation for D'Ambrosio's trial. They have requested a continuance for forensic testing, which could take as long as two months.

But Assistant County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer implied that defense lawyers did not prepare their case because they anticipated the state would offer D'Ambrosio a plea deal. He said when that didn't happen, they panicked and looked to blame prosecutors.

Meyer argued that defense lawyers would have been aware of the evidence had they read their own case file.

In a brief filed Monday, prosecutors contend that in January, defense lawyers received a searchable electronic copy of the 1994 transcript of the appeals case involving co-defendant Keenan, noting that the state would rely on the same evidence to prosecute D'Ambrosio. All of the disputed evidence -- dirt collected from the crime scene, a lab report stating the dirt tested negative for human blood and an untested swab of blood from D'Ambrosio's apartment -- is listed and discussed by witnesses in the Keenan transcript.

Cuyahoga County Public Defender Robert Tobik and D'Ambrosio's attorneys, Jeffry Kelleher and John Lewis, should have examined the transcripts and noted the evidence, the brief argued.

"None of the physical evidence in this case is new," prosecutors contend in the brief. "None of this evidence has been hidden from anyone. The defense attorneys had adequate notice in their own files of its existence since 2002."

If the defense lawyers wanted the items tested, Meyer said, they could have asked. Meyer said the state didn't plan to test the items to prove its case, a decision that Synenberg condemned as illogical and irresponsible.

D'Ambrosio's attorneys declined to comment on the case after the hearing.

Synenberg is expected to set a new trial date at a hearing scheduled for today.
blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/03/lawyers_prosecutors_in_joe_dam.html

[thinkinkmesa]

CLEVELAND — Former death row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio's aggravated murder trial, which was originally scheduled to begin Monday, has been postponed until May 4.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg rescheduled the trial this morning to accommodate D'Ambrosio's lawyers, who argued that prosecutors turned over several critical pieces of evidence too late for forensic testing. The items, including an untested swab of blood from D'Ambrosio's apartment, have been sent to a lab with results expected in about a month.

D'Ambrosio agreed to the delay.

The state had one week left to try D'Ambrosio on charges that he and Thomas Keenan killed 19-year-old Tony Klann in 1988 and dumped his body in Doan Creek. He was convicted of aggravated murder in 1989 and sentenced to death.

But in 2006, a federal judge ruled that prosecutors withheld from D'Ambrosio and his lawyers 10 key pieces of evidence that might have exonerated him in the original case.

In September, U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley ordered a new trial to begin within 180 days.

Synenberg said this week that she resisted rescheduling the trial beyond the mandated deadline. But she intends to give D'Ambrosio a fair trial, she said, and does not believe prosecutors have been forthright in disclosing evidence.

During a hearing Monday, prosecutors argued that defense lawyers would have been aware of the evidence had they read their own case file.

Prosecutors contended that in January, defense lawyers received a searchable electronic copy of the 1994 transcript of the appeals case involving co-defendant Keenan, noting that the state would rely on the same evidence to prosecute D'Ambrosio. All of the disputed evidence is listed and discussed by witnesses in the Keenan transcript.

Assistant County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer implied that defense lawyers did not prepare their case because they anticipated the state would offer D'Ambrosio a plea deal. He said when that didn't happen, they panicked and looked to blame prosecutors.

Public Defender Robert Tobik and D'Ambrosio's attorneys Jeffry Kelleher and John Lewis, declined to comment.
blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/03/judge_sets_may_4_trial_date_fo.html

[thinkinkmesa]

CLEVELAND — Former death row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio walked out of Cuyahoga County jail shortly after 1 p.m. and got his first taste of freedom in 20 years.


D'Ambrosio was convicted in 1989 of the aggravated murder of Tony Klann and sentenced to death. But in 2006, a federal judge ruled that prosecutors withheld from D'Ambrosio and his lawyers 10 key pieces of evidence that might have exonerated him in the original case.

He will be retried on May 4.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg set his bail at $50,000 last week and agreed to allow him to stay with a woman in Parma who befriended him while he was in prison

D'Ambrosio, wearing baggy brown pants, a sweatshirt and a blue and gold athletic jacket, said only, "No comment," as he walked out of the Lakeside Avenue doors of the Justice Center.

He will be subject to electronic monitoring while free on bond until the trial.

The Rev. Neil Kookoothe, a Catholic priest who has corresponded with D'Ambrosio for years, was with D'Ambrosio.

To view video and pictures;
blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/03/former_death_row_inmate_joe_da_1.html

[pebbles]

Joe D'Ambrosio to remain free pending retrial, judge rules
Posted by Peter Krouse/Plain Dealer Reporter April 25, 2009 07:46AM

Former death-row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio will remain a free man pending a retrial in the 1988 murder of Tony Klann.

U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley said in a ruling Friday afternoon that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason cannot seek to keep D'Ambrosio in prison pending his trial. The 55-page filing also expunged D'Ambrosio's criminal record.

The decision means that the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office can still try to convict D'Ambrosio of the murder, although the forum appears to be somewhat in question.

D'Ambrosio is scheduled to be retried in Common Pleas Court beginning May 4 before Judge Joan Synenberg, but a statement released by Mason late Friday suggests he may try to go in a different direction.

"The case will be reindicted and both sides will be afforded a fresh start to allow justice to prevail," Mason stated through his spokesman, Ryan Miday. "Let the chips fall where they may. It seems like a fair solution to resolve the recent controversies."

O'Malley's decision stems from her ruling last September that gave the county prosecutor's office 180 days to either retry D'Ambrosio in Klann's murder or set him free. O'Malley had overturned D'Ambrosio's murder conviction in 2006, saying the prosecution had withheld evidence that could have exonerated him.

As the March 10 deadline for D'Ambrosio's retrial neared, his attorneys complained that the prosecutor's office had again failed to turn over critical evidence.

As a result, Synenberg extended the start date of the trial to May 4, giving the defense time to perform forensic testing on the evidence.

The delay prompted the prosecutor's office to request an extension of the 180-day deadline imposed by O'Malley. Meanwhile, D'Ambrosio was released from prison on March 4 after 20 years, but placed on house arrest. It appears that O'Malley's ruling will end his house arrest.

D'Ambrosio was also hoping that O'Malley would prevent a retrial, but she didn't go that far. While there was a reasonable chance that D'Ambrosio would have been found not guilty had all the evidence been presented at trial, his innocence was called into question by "material discrepancies between the alibi testimony at the evidentiary hearing and D'Ambrosio's trial testimony."

"There is, moreover, no compelling piece of evidence -- like the confession of another -- that points overwhelmingly to D'Ambrosio's innocence," O'Malley states.

O'Malley blamed the delay of the retrial on the failure of the prosecutor's office to turn over four envelopes of evidence to the defense in a timely fashion. In testifying before O'Malley this month, Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mark Mahoney said he believed the county had complied with its obligations. O'Malley accused Mahoney and Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer of giving evasive testimony on the matter.

The critical evidence included blood samples from D'Ambrosio's apartment, but when the envelope was inspected recently, the samples were gone. It's believed they were destroyed years ago.

Meanwhile, Mason has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to remove Synenberg from the case, saying she once represented D'Ambrosio's co-defendant, Thomas Keenan. Synenberg has denied ever representing Keenan.

blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/04/joe_dambrosio_to_remain_free_p.html

[thinkinkmesa]

CLEVELAND — The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a bias claim filed by Cuyahoga County prosecutors against Judge Joan Synenberg in the retrial of a death penalty case.

In the decision issued Wednesday, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer said that Prosecutor Bill Mason could not provide evidence to shore up his argument that Synenberg has been biased or hostile toward prosecutors in her handling of the Joe D'Ambrosio case.

Related content can be found by using this link;
www.cleveland.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/06/ohio_supreme_court_rejects_cla.html


• Read the judge's filing
• Read the prosecutor's filing
• Judge Joan Synenberg answers prosecutor over Joe D'Ambrosio case
• Judge Joan Synenberg answers prosecutor over Joe D'Ambrosio case
• Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason accuses Judge Joan Synenberg of favoring convicted killer
• Joe D'Ambrosio gets hearing on wait for retrial
• Judge sets May 4 trial date for Joe D'Ambrosio retrial
• Lawyers, prosecutors in Joe D'Ambrosio retrial fight over evidence; judge asked to step down
• Joe D'Ambrosio's likely new neighbors in Parma have mixed feelings about his release
• Former death row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio seeks permission to stay with Parma woman
• Ohio death row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio let out on $50,000 bond

Mason asked the Supreme Court in April to remove Synenberg from the case. One of his arguments was that she could not try it fairly because she represented co-defendant Thomas Keenan in 1993. Like D'Ambrosio, Keenan was sentenced to death for the 1988 aggravated murder of Tony Klann, whose body was found with a slashed throat in Doan Creek.

Mason's argument relied on a court record that listed Synenberg as one of Keenan's attorneys and affidavits signed by two assistant prosecutors who said they remembered Synenberg working on the case. Mason also contended that the judge was rude and disrespectful during hearings and gave defense attorneys more time to make arguments.

The judge denied ever representing Keenan. James Kersey, who was Keenan's attorney, also submitted an affidavit denying that Synenberg helped him with the case in 1993.

In his ruling, Moyer said he could not conclude, based on Mason's records, that the judge had once represented Keenan.

Mason issued a statement saying he was disappointed by Moyer's decision but respected it.

D'Ambrosio's conviction was thrown out on appeal in 2006 because prosecutors failed to disclose key evidence that might have exonerated him. U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley ordered in September that D'Ambrosio receive a new trial, commencing in 180 days.

But the trial was postponed when D'Ambrosio's lawyers argued that prosecutors turned over several critical pieces of evidence too late for forensic testing. O'Malley erased D'Ambrosio's conviction and death sentence in April after prosecutors missed the 180-day deadline. The judge's ruling stated that prosecutors can proceed with a retrial under the original indictment or re-indict the case.

D'Ambrosio filed an appeal in May in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that prosecutors' failure to try the case within the court-ordered time limit should prevent them from re-indicting it.

The case is on hold pending the appellate court's decision.

[thinkinkmesa]

Judge bars re-prosecution of Joe D'Ambrosio, slams prosecutors

Joe D'Ambrosio's march from death row to freedom continued Wednesday when a federal judge barred the re-prosecution of D'Ambrosio for the 1988 murder to Tony Klann.

In her decision, U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley went out of her way to slam Cuyahoga County prosecutors for recent tactics that she said included withholding more evidence and a baseless attack on a county judge that "showed startling indifference to D'Ambrosio's rights."


If any case properly should be described as extraordinary, it is this one," O'Malley wrote. "For 20 years, the State held D'Ambrosio on death row, despite wrongfully withholding evidence that 'would have substantially increased a reasonable juror's doubt of D'Ambrosio's guilt.'"

Wednesday's ruling is another twist in a 22-year odyssey that saw D'Ambrosio go to death row, win a rare appeal in federal court, be released from prison and now possibly being freed for good.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason issued a written statement criticizing O'Malley's ruling, but refused to say whether he will appeal. D'Ambrosio remains under house arrest in Parma.

O'Malley previously ruled prosecutors improperly withheld evidence before his trial in 1989 that could have exonerated him. She based Wednesday's ruling barring a new trial largely on the death of Edward Espinoza, the only eyewitness to the murder.

Mason said he is willing to prosecute D'Ambrosio without Espinoza's testimony if allowed by the court.


"The Judge's decision that the death of the prosecution's star witness somehow prejudices the defense is puzzling," Mason said in the statement. "The only one prejudiced by his death is the State of Ohio."

O'Malley disagreed. She wrote that Espinoza's death leaves D'Ambrosio unable to challenge Espinoza's version of the Klann's killing, which is contradicted by much of the evidence that was withheld from D'Ambrosio.

D'Ambrosio was convicted in 1989 of killing Klann and sentenced to death, but has always proclaimed his innocence. Michael Keenan was tried separately but also found guilty and sentenced to die. He maintains his innocence, too, but remains on death row pending appeal.

Espinoza, the third person charged with killing Klann, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in exchange for testifying against D'Ambrosio and Keenan. He served 12 years in prison and was released in 2001. He died last year.

D'Ambrosio's fate began to change in 1998 after he was befriended by the Rev. Neil Kookoothe, a Catholic priest who looked into his case and found several concerns that he and D'Ambrosio's lawyers began to investigate.

They learned the person who pointed police to D'Ambrosio had his own motive for killing Klann. They also found physical evidence suggested Klann had not been stabbed to death at Doan Creek in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park as Espinoza testified, but that Klann had been killed elsewhere and his body dumped in the stream.

O'Malley overturned D'Ambrosio's conviction in 2006 after ruling Cuyahoga County prosecutors withheld evidence that could have prompted a three-judge panel to find him not guilty. In September 2008, she ordered prosecutors to release D'Ambrosio or retry him within 180 days.

O'Malley extended that deadline after she said prosecutors again withheld evidence from D'Ambrosio. In April 2009, she expunged D'Ambrosio's record, but still allowed for a retrial, unaware that Espinoza had died the previous day.

Espinoza's death came as the state delayed retrying D'Ambrosio, O'Malley wrote. She ruled his death makes is impossible to give D'Ambrosio a fair retrial.

"Obviously I'm delighted with Judge O'Malley's decision and we'll see where this goes from here," Kookoothe said Wednesday.

Jeff Kelleher, one of D'Ambrosio's attorneys, said if O'Malley's order becomes final then D'Ambrosio will have to be released. He's currently under house arrest, awaiting the new murder trial O'Malley just blocked, and living in Parma.

In her opinion, O'Malley detailed what she believes were the prosecution's unfair tactics, including an attempt to discredit Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg, who was to preside over the retrial.

Mason claimed Synenberg favored D'Ambrosio over the prosecution and should be removed from the case because he said she once represented his co-defendant Keenan. Keenan's lawyer at the time signed an affidavit stating she had nothing to do with the case.

O'Malley also criticized prosecutors for knowing of Espinoza's death within days of his passing, but not telling her.

O'Malley emphasized in her ruling that the job of a prosecutor is not to convict people or win cases, but to do justice. She included a quote from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder: "It's the easiest thing in the world for people trained in the adversarial ethic to think a prosecutor's job is simply to win."

Without Espinoza, D'Ambrosio would have had a hard time demonstrating his contention that Espinoza committed the murder, O'Malley wrote. It also would have been harder to challenge the prosecution's timeline of the murder.

Espinoza stated at D'Ambrosio's trial that the murder happened Friday night after a night of drinking in a Cleveland Heights bar that featured a special on tequila. But the tequila special at the bar occurred on Thursday nights and witnesses at a 2004 hearing testified they saw Klann alive Friday night.

To read more;
blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/03/judge_forbids_re-prosecution_o.html

[thinkinkmesa]

Joe D'Ambrosio took another step closer to freedom this week, but he took it with an ankle bracelet on.

On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled he can't be retried in the slaying of Tony Klann. That same judge overturned the conviction in the first trial because Cuyahoga County prosecutors withheld 10 pieces of evidence that might have led to a not-guilty verdict.

D'Ambrosio's last day of freedom was Sept. 26, 1988, when the Cleveland police showed up at his door.

He was 26. He spent the next 20 years on death row. He has spent the last year on house arrest, even though his record has been expunged.

His long road to freedom has been a relay for life. Back when he was on death row, D'Ambrosio had no money, few visitors and little hope. Father Neil Kookoothe, pastor at St. Clarence Catholic Church, met D'Ambrosio, poked his nose into the case and found that it smelled awful.


Numerous attorneys passed along the baton to help D'Ambrosio -- Joe Bodine, Jeffrey Kelleher and Robert Tobik -- each one advancing the case. Jones Day lawyers Jeff Sutton, Ed Sebold, David Mills and John Lewis worked hundreds of hours pro bono. Parma grandmother and widow Rosalie Lee took D'Ambrosio in so he would have a home to stay in while under house arrest.

It's time for D'Ambrosio to move out.

U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley barred the re-prosecution of D'Ambrosio in a thoughtful, analytical 37-page ruling. She let prosecutors have it. And rightly so.

The judge previously had told prosecutors to give D'Ambrosio a constitutional trial or release him within 180 days. They did neither.


During those 180 days, they engaged in what she politely called "substantial inequitable conduct." They "baselessly attacked the state trial judge [Joan Synenberg], came before this court and supplied testimony that, charitably, only can be described as straining credulity." And they "showed startling indifference to D'Ambrosio's rights."

Prosecutors withheld evidence in the first trial, then withheld key information again. In April 2009, O'Malley had ruled that D'Ambrosio could be retried, but she didn't know that the prosecutor's key eyewitness, Edward Espinoza, had died the previous day.

He died on April 26. Prosecutors knew that on April 30 but didn't tell D'Ambrosio or the state court until July. And they never notified the appeals court of his passing.

In a statement, Prosecutor Bill Mason said the judge's decision that the death of the prosecution's key witness "somehow prejudices the defense is puzzling." He also said the prosecution was willing to go forward without that testimony.

"Society does not benefit by a judge's ruling that a jury should not be permitted to decide the fate of a convicted killer," the statement said. Mason is wrong. D'Ambrosio is not a convicted killer. The federal judge overturned that conviction because Mason's office withheld evidence that could have resulted in a different verdict.

Society doesn't benefit by a prosecution that withholds the very evidence that a jury needs to decide that fate. And in D'Ambrosio's case, without the testimony of the key witness, a jury cannot hear the evidence needed to make a sound decision.

O'Malley's ruling emphasized the role of the prosecution in words that should be posted in every prosecutor's office:

The job of prosecutors is not to convict people. The job is not to win cases. The job is to do justice.

The job is in every case, every decision that they make, to do the right thing. Anybody who asks them to do something other than that is to be ignored. Any policy that is at tension with that is to be questioned.

The overwhelming majority of prosecutors are decent, ethical, honorable lawyers who understand the awesome power they wield and the responsibility that goes with it. But there is a temptation that is always there: It's the easiest thing in the world for people trained in the adversarial ethic to think a prosecutor's job is simply to win."

No, it's simply to do justice.

Prosecutors can't give Joe D'Ambrosio back his 20 years, but they can and should decline to file any further appeals.

This man who was sentenced to death -- it's time to give him back his life.

They can start by taking off that ankle bracelet.
To read more;
www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2010/03/joe_dambrosio_deserves_real_fr.html

[thinkinkmesa]

Joe D'Ambrosio, once on death row on murder charge, now free after judge dismisses all charges

A judge declared Joe D'Ambrosio a free man Friday afternoon, ending more than 21 years of incarceration -- mostly on death row -- for a crime he has always said he didn't commit.

D'Ambrosio, 48, remained subdued as supporters hugged in the courtroom. He marched from the Justice Center to the nearby probation offices to have an electronic bracelet removed from his ankle, the last vestige of his imprisonment.

On the way back out, he extended his hand to one of the guards.

"Take it easy," D'Ambrosio said. "I'm done."

"Enjoy your life," the guard replied.

D'Ambrosio's newfound freedom is the culmination of a long struggle to win the release of a man several judges ruled was denied justice by prosecutors.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg dismissed all charges against D'Ambrosio and ordered him released without any conditions. The move came two days after U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley ruled D'Ambrosio cannot be retried for the 1988 killing of Tony Klann.

"Mr. D'Ambrosio, you are free," Synenberg said, after first reviewing details of the case, including several instances where she said prosecutors attempted to turn her court into "a circus."

Several judges have ruled D'Ambrosio likely would not have been convicted if prosecutors turned over several pieces of evidence that could have exonerated him, as they are required to do.

D'Ambrosio's case became a rallying point for supporters of "open discovery," the legal process in which prosecutors turn over all their evidence to defense lawyers, rather than just the evidence they deem applicable.

D'Ambrosio tempered his emotions Friday, mindful of an appeal the state filed that challenged O'Malley's ruling.

The Rev. Neil Kookoothe, the Catholic priest whose investigative work lead to the discovery of evidence that freed D'Ambrosio, couldn't hold back his emotions after Synenberg dismissed the charges. His head dropped. Then he turned and hugged Joe Bodine, a former attorney for D'Ambrosio and now a law professor at Capital University.

Bodine said he felt blessed getting to know D'Ambrosio and working toward his release, even though the process gave him six ulcers. He gives the state's appeal little chance of succeeding.

"I would be dumbfounded if Judge O'Malley's opinion were reversed," he said. "That was a work of art."

The attorney general's notice of appeal did not specify on what grounds they were appealing her ruling, and his office declined to elaborate.

In her ruling Wednesday, O'Malley forbade prosecutors from retrying D'Ambrosio for killing Klann. She also used space in her 37-page order to blast Cuyahoga County prosecutors, from those who handled D'Ambrosio's case in 1989 to those who she said ignored her orders and D'Ambrosio's rights in recent months.

"To fail to bar retrial in such extraordinary circumstances surely would fail to serve the interests of justice," O'Malley wrote. "Indeed, it would pervert those interests."

D'Ambrosio was convicted of killing Klann but proclaimed his innocence. Michael Keenan was tried separately and also was found guilty and sentenced to die. He maintains his innocence, too, but remains on death row pending appeal.

Edward Espinoza, the third person charged with killing Klann, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in exchange for testifying against D'Ambrosio and Keenan. He served 12 years in prison and was released in 2001. He died last year.

The turning point for D'Ambrosio came in 1998 when he met Kookoothe, who trained as a lawyer and nurse before becoming a priest. Kookoothe looked into D'Ambrosio's case and found several concerns.

Further investigation determined the person who directed police to D'Ambrosio had his own motive for killing Klann. Physical evidence also suggested Klann had not been stabbed to death at Doan Brook in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park, as Espinoza testified, but that Klann was killed elsewhere and his body dumped in the stream.

O'Malley overturned D'Ambrosio's conviction in 2006 after ruling Cuyahoga County prosecutors withheld 10 pieces of evidence that could have prompted a three-judge panel to find him not guilty. In September 2008, she ordered prosecutors to release D'Ambrosio or retry him within 180 days.

O'Malley extended that deadline after she said prosecutors again withheld evidence from D'Ambrosio.

D'Ambrosio then went from state prison to an apartment in Parma, where he was allowed to live under house arrest pending the outcome of the new murder trial.

In April 2009, O'Malley expunged D'Ambrosio's record but still allowed for a retrial, unaware that Espinoza had died the previous day. But she ruled this week Espinoza's death now makes it impossible to give D'Ambrosio a fair retrial, because his lawyers could not challenge Espinoza's version of the killing with the witheld evidence that contradicts his testimony.

While on house arrest, D'Ambrosio has been living with Rosalie Lee, a 70-year-old he considers mom. But with Synenberg's order, he's now free to go wherever he wants.

"Although perhaps not swift, justice did prevail," Synenberg said.

D'Ambrosio declined to talk with the media, but he smiled and hugged his supporters.

Lee said she doesn't know what the man she has come to love like a son will do next.

"There's people that have offered him jobs," she said.

When Kookoothe was asked if he might give D'Ambrosio work around the church, the priest declined to say.

"What Joe does from this point on is his business," Kookoothe said. "He's a free man."

To read more;
blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/03/d.html

[thinkinkmesa]

Ex-Ohio death-row inmate free after 21 years
Prosecutors withheld evidence in killing, judges had ruled

A former Ohio Death Row inmate is a free man after a judge dismissed a murder charge against him in the 1988 stabbing death of a man found dead in a brook in a Cleveland park.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg ordered Joe D'Ambrosio released without conditions Friday, two days after a federal judge ruled he cannot be retried because a key witness has died. The state is appealing that decision.

Several judges have ruled that D'Ambrosio likely would not have been convicted if prosecutors had not improperly withheld from defense attorneys evidence that could have exonerated him.

"Mr. D'Ambrosio, you are free," Synenberg said, after noting that prosecutors had repeatedly tried to turn her courtroom into a "circus."

"Although perhaps not swift, justice did prevail," she said.

D'Ambrosio, 48, spent more than 21 years incarcerated for the death of Tony Klann, whose body was found in Rockefeller Park's Doan Brook on Sept. 24, 1988, by a jogger. He was released on house arrest a year ago pending retrial and has denied the crime.

After Friday's court hearing, D'Ambrosio hugged a supporter in court, then had an electronic monitoring bracelet removed from his ankle at a probation office.

A second defendant, Michael Keenan, also was convicted and remains on Death Row pending appeal.

A third man, Edward Espinoza, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and testified against the other men. He served 12 years in prison, was released in 2001 and died last year.

U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley ruled on Wednesday that D'Ambrosio could not be given a fair trial because he would be unable to cross-examine and otherwise challenge Espinoza's story with the evidence that had been withheld.

O'Malley had overturned D'Ambrosio's conviction in 2006 and, in 2008, ordered him to be released unless prosecutors retried.

She had expunged his record in April and, before learning of Espinoza's death said he could still be retried.

To read more;
www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/03/08/inmate-free-after-21-years.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

[thinkinkmesa]

cross post/

Ohio's "Substantial Inequitable Conduct" Leads to Nation's 140th Death Row Exoneration


www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-ohios-substantial-inequitable-conduct-leads-nations-140th-death-row-exoneration?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

[thinkinkmesa]

Here is a copy of the media release just sent out by OTSE

CLEVELAND MAN EXONERATED FROM OHIO DEATH ROW
Joe D’Ambrosio becomes 140th Death Row Exoneration and the Sixth from Ohio

Attorneys for former death row prisoner Joe D’Ambrosio confirm that the case against their client is resolved and D’Ambrosio is the sixth man exonerated from Ohio’s death row. John Q. Lewis of Tucker Ellis & West LLP and David Mills of the Mills Law Office LLC said the United States Supreme Court denied the petition made by the Ohio Attorney General to review an August 2011 ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The highest court in the nation had the final say as to whether or not D’Ambrosio could be re-prosecuted.

Joe D’Ambrosio was wrongfully convicted of the 1989 murder of Anthony Klann in Cleveland. Cuyahoga County prosecutors withheld 10 pieces of evidence that would have exonerated D’Ambrosio at his trial and implicated another suspect in the crime.

Ohioans to Stop Executions is now calling on Governor Kasich to issue an immediate moratorium on executions. Mr. D’Ambrosio’s exoneration and the on-going review of the death penalty system by the Ohio Supreme Court provide Governor Kasich ample reasoning to issue a moratorium on executions until the conclusion of the review by the State’s highest court.

Kevin Werner, Executive Director of Ohioans to Stop Executions, said, “This case exemplifies one of the most serious flaws of our death penalty system—the dangerous risk Ohio runs of executing someone for a crime he didn’t commit. Joe D’Ambrosio is exonerated today by sheer coincidence. It was a coincidence that Joe met Rev. Neil Kookoothe who is trained as a lawyer and critical care nurse and that Rev. Kookoothe was willing to look closely at this case. Coincidence is not the standard we should be comfortable with when our justice system is seeking to execute people.”
Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that brings together faith and community leaders, activists, attorneys, death row exonerees and murder victims’ families under a common cause: abolishing the death penalty in Ohio. OTSE is the state affiliate of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

[thinkinkmesa]

Welcome Back, Joe

gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2012/01/welcome-back-joe.html

[thinkinkmesa]

Former death row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio, finally free, speaks out:

Attempted murder. That's what Joe D'Ambrosio wants the prosecutors to be charged with.
He says the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office tried to kill him by withholding 10 pieces of evidence at his trial, evidence that could have led to a not-guilty verdict.
Instead, D'Ambrosio sat on Ohio's death row for more than 20 years.
He is finally free.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the state's appeal against him. The ruling wipes D'Ambrosio's legal slate clean.

More, including video;
www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2012/01/joe_dambrosio_finally_free_spe.html

[guest]

video-embed.cleveland.com/services/player/bcpid649725534001?bctid=1412496888001&bckey=AQ~~%2CAAAAQBxUNqE~%2CxKBGzTdiYSTvTgY_KEDQxGs6uqT6UiMm

[thinkinkmesa]

Joe D'Ambrosio co-defendant on death row must be retried or have his conviction set aside

www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/dambrosio_co-defendant_on_deat.html

[thinkinkmesa]

Exonerated death row inmate shares experiences with area Catholics

www.thecatholictelegraph.com/exonerated-death-row-inmate-shares-experiences-with-area-catholics/7666

[thinkinkmesa]

Former death row inmate gets OK to sue Ohio

www.10tv.com/content/stories/apexchange/2013/01/12/oh--death-penalty-release.html

[thinkinkmesa]

Ex-Ohio death row inmate can't pursue suit
www.10tv.com/content/stories/apexchange/2014/03/27/oh--death-penalty-release.html

[thinkinkmesa]

Sorry about your time on death row, pal. Nothing we can do.

www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/04/02/sorry-about-your-time-on-death-row-pal-nothing-we-can-do/