By Celeste M. Hart
UPDATED February 1, 2022
July 2021, Taylor exercised his right and submitted a request for DNA testing to discover the true owner of the male specimen that excluded Taylor, testing on the clothes his accuser wore, and still waiting on the court’s decision
“Who is this guy? It definitely was not me. Let’s get to the bottom of this. this has destroyed our family. I would never hurt any of my cousins. If somebody did, I want to know who it was,” said Taylor via phone from Ohio’s Lebanon prison.
“Taylor argues he was convicted solely on inconsistent testimony. Specifically, Taylor claimed the lack of blood at the crime scene, the lack of injuries on E.W., and the lack of his DNA on or inside E.W., supports his argument that his convictions were against the manifest weight of the evidence. As an initial matter, there is no requirement, statutory or otherwise, that a victim’s testimony be corroborated as a condition precedent to a rape conviction,” an excerpt from appeal decision, 2014.
“People believe young girls can’t do this sort of thing. “Women can get back at men just by claiming sexual assault,” said Win Wahrer, Innocence Canada and creator of Wrongful Conviction Day, October 2nd, via telephone.
Michael P. Taylor, charged with four rapes, three kidnappings, for an alleged incident on Oct 12, 2012, and an intimidation, with Cleveland’s Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Safford presiding. The jury found Taylor not guilty of three of the rapes and one kidnapping that resulted in sentences of a total 24 years to life. The ‘victim’, a 17-year-old family member testified that Taylor raped her on four different occasions. A Victim Impact Representative, from the Rape Crisis Center, stood beside ‘victim’ while she testified. Taylor appealed but lost.
“In criminal cases, consistency between verdicts on several counts
of an indictment is unnecessary where the defendant is convicted on one or some counts, and acquitted on others, and the conviction will generally be upheld, irrespective of its rational incompatibility with the acquittal,” appeal states.
Taylor also asserts that there was insufficient evidence to support the guilty
verdicts for rape, kidnapping, and gross sexual imposition for the alleged incident
Watch Michael Taylor video from Ohio Prison here:
https://rumble.com/v1m2q2o-mike-taylor-wrongful-conviction-day-railroaded.html
Center for Prosecutorial Integrity released a paper titled, Believe the Victim
…..
“Although Evid.R. 611 empowers the trial court with broad discretion to
conduct its courtroom in its own fashion, a better course of action would have been for the trial court to have taken a recess so that E.W. could have composed herself and received support from the victim representative outside the presence of the jury. Instead, the trial court’s decision to offer to have the victim representative come stand next to E.W. during her testimony gave the appearance that the victim representative was improperly vouching for her credibility. However, I find the error harmless due to the overwhelming evidence…” wrote Justice Larry Jones, deceased in 2021.
“E.W. testified that after Taylor entered the house, he began touching her
neck and buttocks amidst her protestations. Taylor proceeded to kiss E.W.’s neck while attempting to pull down her shorts. E.W. stated that Taylor overpowered her, they fell to the ground, and he inserted his finger and then his penis into her vagina. E.W. said she unsuccessfully tried to push him off and her pleas for him to stop went unheeded,” according to the appeal
“Appellant was deprived of due process and a fair trial in violation of his
state and federal constitutional rights when the trial court allowed a
representative from victim impact to stand by a witness/victim during her
trial testimony over appellant’s objection,” argued defense Attorney Joseph V. Pagano
The victim was a minor testifying about being raped by her cousin and
conceivably testifying in a courtroom where other family members are present, some of whom were possibly aligned against the minor. Accordingly, the court’s action was consistent with other cases involving a minor’s testimony. Consequently, we find no prejudice to Taylor and overrule his third assigned error.
The ‘other cases’ included, a five, an eight and a 13-year-old victim whom were allowed to sit on parent’s lap during testimony.
“A trial court, empowered with broad discretion in controlling the
mode and order of interrogating witnesses and presenting evidence “so as to (1) make the interrogation and presentation effective for the ascertainment of the truth, (2) avoid needless consumption of time, and (3) protect witnesses from harassment or undue embarrassment.”
The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center (CRCC) assists victims with emotional support during trials, encourages testimony and assists in the application process for victim compensation. In 2017, the Rape Crisis Center received its largest grant, 3.25 million through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Victim Crime Act, in 2018, the center got 4.6 million. In 1980, the CRCC implemented a program to improve the indictment rate of accused rapists and increased indictments from five per cent, in 1978 to 91 per cent in 1981, according to Case Western Reserve Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. In 2007, 14,000 victims were assisted, in four counties, in 2017, that number is projected to be 44,000.
A woman passenger in his car, on the day of alleged rape, testified on his behalf that he was only in E.W.’s home for just a few minutes to charge his phone as Taylor stated.
“After viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, the
above evidence, if believed, would support the conclusion that Taylor committed the actions alleged. As such, any rational trier of fact would have found the essential elements of the charges that led to his convictions proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the trial court did not err when it denied Taylor’s motion for acquittal,” wrote justices.
“Where DNA evidence is found on the victim at the time of the offense that is not DNA of the accused, there is insufficient evidence to prove
he committed any sexual offense. An Appellant is denied a fair trial when a victim impact representative stands with a 17-year old encouraging sympathy from the jury and bolstering the victims credibility…The essential point of this case is that the Appellant is actually innocent, but the jury lost their way.
DNA semen evidence existed in the trial record that was part of the rape kit of which he was convicted that was not the Appellant’s DNA, indicating his innocence,” argued Attorney Pagano.
A letter from Taylor via J-Pay, a service for inmate communications;
“Father, Thank You For Planting Me Where I Am With Opportunities And Responsibilities. I’m Sorry For Not Being Satisfied With Where I Am And Dreaming Of A Distant Pasture That May Be Better. I’m Not Where I Am Or Who I Am By Accident. You Won’t Forsake Me Because Your Love Won’t Allow It. Amen.
“Writing This Support The Character Of Who I Was And Who I Am. I Was Wrongfully Charged Of All Charges Against Me, I Was Accused Of Crimes That Was Not Committed By Me. I Am Currently Waiting For That Unidentified Male Identity To Be Released. I Am Petitioning For My Release On My Current Prison Sentence That I Have Been Serving Since July 2013 With The Support From Friends And Family Its Urgent Another Wrongful Conviction Be Overturned And Justice For Michael P. Taylor Sr Be Served,“
| MICHAEL TAYLOR |
| 11/16/2021 8:13:23 PM |
| celeste hart |
To read the appeal click here:
Taylor has a 16 year-old son and a nine -year-old daughter whose last birthday wish was for her “daddy to come home.”
theovergroundpost 
1 Comment