‘A Feather in a Hat’, ex-prosecutor called Wrongful Conviction

October 2nd, International Wrongful Conviction Day, launched by Win Wahrer of Innocence Canada, in 2014, to bring light and a ‘give a voice to exonerees,’ was acknowledged at the Justice Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Jeanna Kenney, director of Ensuring Parole for Incarcerated Citizens (EPIC), organized the rally that included exonerees, RuEl Sailor who lost 15 years, Derrick Wheat and Laurese Glover, two thirds of the East Cleveland Three that included Eugene Johnson, each lost 20 years. In a telephone interview, Wahrer described her passion for the wrongfully convicted.

“I am pretty much captured, I don’t have a choice. It’s not for the weak at heart. If the public does not get as mad as those directly affected by injustice, a justified anger, wrongful convictions will not stop,” said Wahrer.

A September, 2020 study, by the National Registry of Exonerations, concluded that misconduct by government officials is a factor in 54 per cent of wrongful convictions. From what I know and witnessed, many of the railroaded or wrongfully convicted, were the results of situations that never happened, all fabricated, all lies.

“Misconduct that produces unreliable, misleading or false evidence of guilt, or that conceals, distorts or undercuts true evidence of innocence. Prosecutors committed misconduct in 30% of the cases. Prosecutors were responsible for most of the concealing of exculpatory evidence and misconduct at trial, and a substantial amount of witness tampering.

Read the study here: http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Government_Misconduct_and_Convicting_the_Innocent.pdf

As a mother of two sons, both wrongfully convicted of rape, one twice and as a journalist, and a real rape victim, I was Introduced to the Wrongful Conviction world, 20 years ago, by Cuyahoga County Juvenile Judge Alison Nelson Floyd and disgraced, ex prosecutor, Oscar Rodriguez who was forced to resign due to misconduct. Throughout the years, I court-watched, sought out information and wrote about the disgusting shenanigans prosecutors, lawyers, police and judges perform to get wrongful convictions for ‘feathers in a hat’. I have read thousands of pages of transcripts, police reports and receive pages of innocent inmate letters. Michael P. Taylor, Larry O. Davis, Judah Fudge, Raymond Allen Warren, Ronald Shanklin and the most sickening, Emmitt Till type case of Jonathan Magwood, along with my own sons, compelled me to continue the fight for justice.

Rodriguez, currently a defense attorney, told a woman, whose boyfriend, he formally prosecuted, and who sought a new trial, “that feather ain’t comin’ out of my hat.” But he did provide a little trick of the pros for next time: Pay the witnesses not to come to court.”

Read the article here:

https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/a-night-at-the-bar/Content?oid=1494746

This heartbreaking Rodriguez quote ended the article:

“You have to understand,” he says, looking back at his house, his two young kids peering out the window at the visitor. “I have a lot to lose.”

Then he begins to cry.

As a journalist, I asked Ronnie Long, exonerated September, 2020, after 44 years in a NC prison, wrongfully convicted of rape, how he felt about “a lot to lose.” Read article here:

https://wordpress.com/block-editor/page/theovergroundpost.com/108

A girl, Alonda Garth, 13, testified Hart dragged her down 131st street, in Cleveland, Ohio, near Hamilton Jr High, around, 4:30 pm, during school dismissal, about eight bus stops on the street, in a busy neighborhood where in 2001, even at four in the morning. She testified nobody was outside and she feared for her life because, ‘he had a pager.’ In reality, Hart practiced basketball, as usual, the whole time. The police never entered the school to question the team, shoddy investigation.

Alibi witnesses came to court, several times, one sent a letter to Judge Alison Nelson Floyd, never submitted or mentioned. Alison stopped the cross-examination when real questions arose and the public defender, Anthony Kellon, never asked him any questions of pertinence to the false charges such as the typical, “Where were you on the day in question?” In a different case, Floyd ordered lie-detector tests for two rape victims and the defendant to resolve the “significant discrepancy” in their stories and “verify his truthfulness.” Click below for article:

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2010/03/juvenile_court_judge_alison_fl.html

In my son’s case, several defense witnesses who lived in the alleged incident home and one Hart walked to the bus stop, 4:50 pm, attended his court hearings to testify, hearings continued for months for frivolous reasons like “victim’s younger brother was sick.” An alibi statement was provided and the coach told police officers my son was at basketball practice before his approximately 5:10 arrival. Alison did not make a decision the day of trial, as required by juvenile law, instead, a probation officer visited my home, for a probation screening, and then informed us of the guilty decision. The officer wrote in her report, ‘mother was uncooperative’. Alison denied our requested continuance, issued an arrest warrant, jailed him, immediately brought to Alison’s court and not provided access to a phone call. Alison sentenced Hart, then 19-years-old, to juvenile life, in detention facility until age 21, forced to write an apology to ‘victim’, placed on sex offender list for ten years upon release, moved out of state where he registered for additional ten years Alison asked my son, “Where is your mother? She is a reporter.” Knowingly, she intentionally blocked his mother from the court session.

I spoke with Alison, outside of court, she advised me to submit an alibi witness list that I presented to her the next day, she said I was too late, it had to be submitted nine weeks in advance.

Note to Alison, as his mother, I’m still reporting and still uncooperative, 20 years later.

https://www.cleveland.com/countyincrisis/2012/01/judge_alison_nelson_floyd_said.html

http://badlawyernyc.blogspot.com/2010/09/incredibly-curious-case-of-judge-alison.html

Government Officials’ Games Played at Recess

A prosecutor attempted to look through a defense lawyer’s files left on the court table while the attorney left for recess, bathroom break or phone call. No one paid attention until I stopped him with that shocked look on his face. I realized Rodriguez probably utilized that tactic on my son’s defense attorney who left Alison’s courtroom during recess. When the trial commenced, the attorney opened his file, shuffled through the papers and said loudly to himself, “What happened to the rape kit results?” The actual results here:

Rodriguez seized the opportunity to falsely state, in court, that the results showed bruises on the victim’s thighs. It took 12 years for me to obtain the results which Rodriguez told me I would never receive, along with the original statements from Alonda.G.

“The courtroom is a stage. People are convicted based on lies,” said Wahrer via phone.

Rodriguez re-enacted Alonda G.’s story in court, He grabbed her arm, to show how my son pulled her down the busy streets, but, Rodriguez’s hand could not fit around her extra large wrist and as she turned her wrist quickly, his hand fell off. He had a surprised look but gathered his composure for the sake of the “Feather in his hat.”

At a visit to the Juvenile public defender office, I was told an appeal, as an automatic appeal is required by juvenile law, would be filed. I checked back 29 days later and was told by a receptionist the appeal would be filed that day but never happened and no files recorded.

For 20 years, on that sex offender list, no suitable address, fired from jobs after the background comes back, calls from Charlotte sheriffs, house police surrounded, three different times, like a violent murderer on the loose and increasing the chances of some one murdered here by police. Watch video of police at my house here.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNr6YLf1VHzZT2Tt2M9KCRYbm1TUvF3fur6en6i

 He’s been arrested more than once, several time during in family court, for trying to keep the bond he had with his son, now alienated based on perjury. Alison ruined many families and she should be arrested for obstruction of justice, contempt of court and other charges. Rodriguez should have been arrested instead of the opportunity to resign.

The Exoneration study states that Procuring false testimony—inducing a witness to testify to facts the officer or prosecutor knows the witness did not perceive is misconduct, and punishable as contempt of court, for a lawyer to lie in court, whether or not the lawyer is under oath.