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Two Ohio Men Wrongly Acused of Murder Walks Free
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Two Ohio Men Wrongly Acused of Murder Walks FreePosted:
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Ohio Men Wrongly Convicted of Murder After 39 Years Released!
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Story
Two Ohio men wrongly accused of murder four decades ago are walking free Friday morning after spending 39 years behind bars. A Cleveland judge on Wednesday had dropped all charges against Ricky Jackson, 57, and Wiley Bridgeman, 60, allowing for the pairs release. The Ohio Innocence Project, which took up the case, said Jackson had been the longest-held U.S. prisoner to be exonerated.
Jackson was 19 when he was convicted along with Bridgeman and Bridgemans brother, Ronnie, in the 1975 shooting death and robbery of Harold Franks, a Cleveland-area money order salesman. Testimony from a 13-year-old helped point to Jackson as the triggerman and led a jury to convict all three. But that witness, now 53, recanted his testimony last year, saying he was coerced by detectives, according to court documents.
A story published in Scene Magazine in 2011 first raised new questions about the murder and whether Jackson and the Bridgeman brothers actually committed the crime. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said in court Tuesday that without an eyewitness there was not much of a case. The state is conceding the obvious," he said, according to Reuters.
Ronnie Bridgeman, now known as Kwame Ajamu, was paroled from prison in 2003. Jackson was originally sentenced to death but that sentence was vacated because of a paperwork error. The Bridgeman brothers remained on death row until Ohio declared the death penalty unconstitutional in 1978. One of them came within 20 days of execution before Ohio ruled the death penalty unconstitutional said Mark Godsey, director of the Ohio Innocence Project.
Jackson was 19 when he was convicted along with Bridgeman and Bridgemans brother, Ronnie, in the 1975 shooting death and robbery of Harold Franks, a Cleveland-area money order salesman. Testimony from a 13-year-old helped point to Jackson as the triggerman and led a jury to convict all three. But that witness, now 53, recanted his testimony last year, saying he was coerced by detectives, according to court documents.
A story published in Scene Magazine in 2011 first raised new questions about the murder and whether Jackson and the Bridgeman brothers actually committed the crime. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said in court Tuesday that without an eyewitness there was not much of a case. The state is conceding the obvious," he said, according to Reuters.
Ronnie Bridgeman, now known as Kwame Ajamu, was paroled from prison in 2003. Jackson was originally sentenced to death but that sentence was vacated because of a paperwork error. The Bridgeman brothers remained on death row until Ohio declared the death penalty unconstitutional in 1978. One of them came within 20 days of execution before Ohio ruled the death penalty unconstitutional said Mark Godsey, director of the Ohio Innocence Project.
#2. Posted:
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I realize that fear is one hell of a controller, but when he's destroying 2 other people's lives because he's afraid to speak out he is a disgusting human being, even if he was only 13 at the time, he had 40 years to come out and give these men back their lives, but he'd rather stay quiet and not shake the hornets nest.
That witness should live in shame and ridicule for the rest of his life.
and don't even get me started on the detectives who coerced him, they should be found and put in prison for the rest of their lives, assuming they're still alive.
They should also look into the background of the detectives, and go over every single case they worked on where someone was convicted.
If they've done it once it's not hard to envision them doing it again.
I just hope these two men can live out the rest of their lives in peace and happiness, they definitely deserve it.
That witness should live in shame and ridicule for the rest of his life.
and don't even get me started on the detectives who coerced him, they should be found and put in prison for the rest of their lives, assuming they're still alive.
They should also look into the background of the detectives, and go over every single case they worked on where someone was convicted.
If they've done it once it's not hard to envision them doing it again.
I just hope these two men can live out the rest of their lives in peace and happiness, they definitely deserve it.
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#3. Posted:
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yes i strongly agree with everything you just said .
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