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Thread: Calvin S. McKelton - Ohio Death Row

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    Calvin S. McKelton - Ohio Death Row


    Margaret “Missy” Allen


    Germaine Lamar Evans, Sr.




    Prosecutors: Witnesses in death penalty case face danger

    Prosecutors say Calvin McKelton, a Cincinnati man charged with killing a Fairfield attorney, has a history of intimidation and shot a witness in the head who could have linked McKelton to the attorney’s strangulation death.

    They don’t want to chance losing any more witnesses.

    McKelton, 33, appeared in Butler County Court Wednesday, June 9, for a hearing to exclude his defense team from knowing the identity of a witness in his death penalty trial.

    The man known as “C-Murder” to police and associates, faces 11 felony counts, including murder, in the strangulation death of Margaret “Missy” Allen in 2008 and aggravated murder in the execution-style shooting death of 27-year-old Germaine Lamar Evans Sr. in February 2009. His trial is set for Oct. 4 before Butler County Judge Michael Sage.

    Last month, Assistant Prosecutor Lance Salyers filed a motion for nondisclosure of witnesses before trial, citing names can be withheld if the state certifies the persons may be subject to physical harm or coercion.

    Salyers pointed to the charges against McKelton stating Evans was killed because he was a witness who could tie McKelton to Allen’s death; McKelton is charged with threatening to harm witnesses if they continued to cooperate with the Cincinnati Police Homicide Unit; and McKelton has a long history of charges being dismissed because witnesses and victims failed to show up for court and McKelton was previously sentenced to prison after being convicted of intimidation of a witness.

    The defense team, made up of attorneys Melynda Cook, Greg Howard and Richard Goldberg, object, stating it would be a “tremendous disadvantage to defense.”

    “Although Mr. McKelton has been convicted of past intimidation of witnesses, it was while he was out of jail awaiting trial. Mr. McKelton is in jail and is unable to cause physical harm or coercion to any known witnesses,” Howard wrote in his response.

    Butler County Judge Michael Sage requested Salyers re-file his motion after the state’s new rules of evidence go into effect next month. The judge will consult with one of the remaining five common pleas judges so that one of them can conduct a closed hearing on the issue.

    A judge other than the one presiding over the trial will have to hear the prosecution’s argument to assure fairness at McKelton’s trial.

    Salyers was given permission to take a deposition from Allen’s doctor, who will not be able testify at trial. The testimony, Salyers said, will include that the attorney had been pregnant and the pregnancy ended in the weeks leading up to her death.

    According to court documents, alleged crimes McKelton committed against Allen include fracturing her ankle on May 4, 2008, strangling her on July 26, 2008, stealing her 2001 BMW, setting fire to carpeting in her home to destroy or conceal evidence and stuffing her body into her car and driving 23 miles to the banks of the Ohio River, where he dumped it in a wooded area at the end of Wenner Street.

    http://www.journal-news.com/news/crime/prosecutors-witnesses-in-death-penalty-case-face-danger-754376.html

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    Judge rules against moving murder trial to new venue

    Calvin McKelton, a Cincinnati man charged with killing a Fairfield attorney and a witness who police say could linked him to her slaying, was back in court Thursday, July 9, while attorneys argued dozens of pretrial motions in preparation for his October death penalty trial.

    McKelton, 33, known as “C-Murder” to police and associates, faces 11 felony counts, including murder, in the strangulation death of Margaret “Missy” Allen in 2008 and aggravated murder in the execution-style shooting death of 27-year-old Germaine Lamar Evans Sr. in February 2009. His trial is set for Oct. 4 before Judge Michael Sage.

    Thursday, the judge denied the defense’s motion for change of venue for the trial. However, if during questioning of jurors it becomes apparent publicity is an issue, Sage said he would reconsider.

    The judge also denied the defense’s motion to have pretrial hearings closed. Attorney Greg Howard, one of three lawyers representing McKelton, argued that publication of evidence and issues presented could influence the jury pool.

    “I strongly believe in an open process,” Sage said. “Open to public scrutiny not only the public but the press.”

    Sage ordered no evidence in the case be destroyed unless by court order, noting he is concerned that all evidence be available now and in future years for DNA testing.

    Howard requested the jury be sequestered during the entire trial, noting the Ryan Widmer case in Warren County in which the defendant received a new trial after jurors admitted to conducting their own experiments during deliberations. Keeping jurors sequestered would be “a better process given the nature of the case,” Howard said. By law, jurors are sequestered during deliberations in capital cases.

    The defense attorney expressed concern with jurors accessing social networking sites during the trial.

    Sage denied the motion, noting all Butler County judges include an instruction to jurors not to view Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

    “Jurors tend to follow what judges tell them to do,” Sage said.

    http://www.journal-news.com/news/crime/judge-rules-against-moving-murder-trial-to-new-venue-802438.html

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    Missing witness in death penalty case found, refuses to testify

    Mother of slain man says defendant tearfully confessed to killing Fairfield attorney

    A missing witness in the Calvin McKelton’s capital murder case was taken into custody by Cincinnati police overnight Monday and walked into a Butler County courtroom on Tuesday to testify. But Michael Nix refused to tell the Common Pleas jury anything he knew about the two deaths for which McKelton, 33, is charged.

    Nix held up a shackled right hand to take his oath and answered “no” when the bailiff asked if he promised to tell the truth.

    Nix then refused to answer any of county Assistant Prosecutor Lance Salyers’ questions.

    Judge Michael Sage ordered Nix to answer, but he continued to refuse.

    “Are you afraid for your life, have you been threatened, have you been shot at?” Sage asked.
    “I just don’t want to testify,” Nix replied.

    Sage then sent Nix to county jail as a material witness.

    He ruled that Cincinnati police Detective David Gregory could testify about what Nix told him this summer about the deaths of Fairfield attorney Margaret “Missy” Allen, 37, and Germaine Evans Sr., 27, who police said could connect McKelton to Allen’s strangulation.

    On Monday, when Nix did not show up in court, Sage, following a hearing outside the presence of the jury, said, “The reason Mr. Nix is not here is due to the wrongdoing of Mr. McKelton or his associates.”

    On Tuesday, the judge said there is a well-documented pattern of threats, intimidation and violence against witnesses in the case.

    Gregory testified he had three conversations with Nix in 2009 and 2010. Nix did not agree to testify or talk in detail with the detective until June 2010.

    During that conversation, which was recorded, Nix told the detective that he and Evans were close, like brothers, and he began to cry when he remembered the last time he saw Evans, known as Mick to his friends, according to Gregory.

    Nix said Evans left his house with McKelton and two other men in a white panel van on the morning of Feb. 27, 2009. He was never seen alive again, Gregory testified.

    A few days after Allen’s body was found, Nix said McKelton admitted to killing her, stating that there was an argument that had gotten out of hand and that he didn’t mean to do it, the detective said.

    Nix said he told police that after Evans’ death he tried to kill McKelton, but the gun jammed.

    Nix wanted to kill McKelton because Evans “was like a brother to him,” Gregory said.

    The last prosecution witness to testify Tuesday was the mother of a man police said was gunned down because he likely knew too much.

    Sheridan Evans of Cincinnati, the mother of Germaine Evans, told a Butler County Common Pleas jury about a threat she said she received from McKelton.

    He threatened her, she said, months after he confessed to her that he killed his girlfriend, Fairfield attorney Margaret “Missy” Allen, 37.

    Evans said she had known McKelton for years, that he was a friend of her son and later dated her daughter, Crystal.

    The daughter also testified for the state, telling the jury that McKelton, the father of her 3-month-old son, was with her when her brother was killed.

    In late July 2008, a few days after Allen’s body was found, Sheridan Evans said McKelton was drinking at her boyfriend’s when he confessed to the homicide.

    “He was crying,” Evans recalled. “He (McKelton) said 'I loved her, I loved her.’ ”

    She said McKelton told her, “ 'I loved Missy, it was a mistake.’ ”

    He said 'I didn’t mean to. I tried to revive her for 10 minutes, but I couldn’t bring her back,’ ” Evans testified.

    Evans said she urged McKelton to contact police if it was an accident. Later, she confided to her son what McKelton had told her.

    Germaine Evans told his mother that he knew McKelton had strangled Allen, according to her testimony.

    Sheridan Evans testified that she also told her son to contact police, but that she never contacted police on her own.

    In March 2009, a month after her son was shot in the head, Sheridan Evans said McKelton and his cousin again showed up at the residence.

    McKelton said his name kept coming up in connection with Germaine’s murder.

    “He (McKelton) said, 'I would hate for anything else to happen to your children,’ ” Sheridan Evans recalled. “I took it as a threat.”

    The defense called no witnesses.

    Alibi witnesses, McKelton’s girlfriends Crystal Evans and Audrey Dums, were called by the prosecution.

    Summations are set to begin at 10 a.m. today in Judge Michael Sage’s courtroom, with deliberations to follow.

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    Convicted Of Killing Girlfriend & Witness, Man Faces Death Penalty

    A southwest Ohio man has been convicted of strangling his girlfriend and fatally shooting a man who witnessed it.

    Calvin McKelton of Bond Hill could face a death sentence after being convicted of murder Thursday in the July 2008 death of Margaret Allen.

    The 33-year-old McKelton also was found guilty of aggravated murder in the February 2009 execution-style shooting of Germaine Evans Sr.

    Prosecutors say McKelton killed Evans because he could tie McKelton to the death of Allen, a Fairfield attorney. Her decomposed body was found in a field.

    The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that McKelton sat expressionless after jurors handed down their verdict. They deliberated for 15-1/2 hours.

    Jurors return to Butler County Common Pleas Court on Oct. 21 to hear more testimony before deciding whether McKelton deserves to die for killing Evans. The murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

    http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/oct/...dea-ar-261511/

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    Convicted double murderer asks for mercy, not death sentence

    A convicted double murderer pleaded with a Butler County jury on Thursday to give him a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

    Calvin McKelton, 33, of Bond Hill, told the jury he wants to continue to have a relationship with his own children and several nieces and nephews, who he says look up to him.

    McKelton, went by the nickname of "C-Murder," made the plea during the sentencing phase of his double murder trial. The same jury convicted him of aggravated murder in the deaths of his girlfriend and Fairfield attorney, Margaret Allen and his friend, Germaine Evans Sr.

    McKelton strangled Allen in July of 2008.

    Evans died of a single gunshot wound to head seven months later.

    Prosecutors said Evans witnessed Allen's death and McKelton was afraid he would testify.

    McKelton wore a dress suit and white shirt and tie to court Thursday morning during the sentencing hearing.

    "I am not the monster prosecutors made me out to be. I am no angel and growing up in my shoes was not easy," McKelton said, reading from his own notes.

    Jurors previously heard calls for a life sentence from McKelton's teenage daughter as well as his mother, Angela McKelton.

    Angela McKelton admitted she was no able to take care of her children when Calvin was young because she was addicted to crack cocaine. She wiped away tears after admitting she worked as a prostitute to help feed her drug habit.

    McKelton's mother and daughter asked the jurors to consider a life sentence so he could continue to play some role in their lives.

    Jurors could recommend the death penalty, life in prison without parole or life in prison with the eligibility of parole after 25 years.

    The afternoon session started with a reading of jury instructions before jurors were allowed to return to the jury room to deliberate.

    http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/region_...death-sentence

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    McKelton jury recommends death

    Convicted killer Calvin McKelton appears to be headed to Death Row.

    A Butler County jury deliberated less than two hours Friday before recommending the death penalty in the February 2009 execution-style shooting of Germaine Evans Sr. at Cincinnati’s Inwood Park.

    Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage set sentencing for Nov. 2.

    He will review the jury's recommendation and has the ability to reduce it to life in prison without parole, or life with parole eligibility in 25 or 30 years if he thinks circumstances of McKelton's life outweight the gravity of the crime.

    Judges generally follow a jury's recommendation in a capital case.

    McKelton was convicted last week of aggravated murder in Evans’ death and of murder in the July 2008 strangling of girlfriend Margaret "Missy" Allen of Fairfield during a domestic dispute.

    Authorities said Evans witnessed Allen’s slaying and that McKelton had him killed to keep him from telling police.

    http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...107/310220051/

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    Killer awaits punishment this week

    Ten days ago a jury gave convicted killer Calvin McKelton a death decree for the murder of a witness who saw him strangle the life out of his girlfriend Margaret “Missy” Allen in her Fairfield home.

    Tuesday morning, Nov. 2, Butler County Judge Michael Sage will officially sentence the 33-year-old Cincinnati man. The judge, who heard the same evidence as the jury, can choose one of the life options instead of the jury’s death sentence, but overruling a jury’s recommendation is unlikely, according to past case history.

    After the verdict’s reading on the morning of Oct. 22, Sage said he would permit victims’ families to speak at the sentencing, but only after he handed down his sentence.

    “I must independently weigh the aggravating circumstance against the mitigating factors in a death case,” Sage said.

    In other words, emotion would not be part of the decision.

    McKelton is convicted of killing Allen, an attorney, in July 2008 and for the February 2009 execution-style shooting death of Germaine Evans Sr., who witnessed the crime.

    Evans’ murder carried the possibility of a death penalty because he was killed so that he could not implicate McKelton in Allen’s death, which is an aggravating factor according to Ohio law.

    In addition to the two murders, McKelton was also convicted of a string of other felony crimes related to dumping Allen’s body and trying to cover up evidence at her home. Sage will also sentence McKelton on the other charges.

    http://www.middletownjournal.com/new...ek-991436.html

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    Man convicted in double murder given death sentence

    A judge this morning sentenced a convicted killer to death for the execution-style shooting of a witness who saw him strangle the life out of his girlfriend and Fairfield attorney Margaret “Missy” Allen.

    Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage also sentenced Calvin McKelton, 33, of Cincinnati, to 15 years to life in prison for Allen’s murder and a string of other felony charges related to dumping her body and trying to cover up evidence in her home.

    McKelton maintained his innocence before sentencing saying,

    “I would like to say I am innocent of these charges, I was wrongfully indicted, wrongfully convicted... but same system that convicted me will set me free,” McKelton said.

    Last month McKelton was convicted of killing Allen in July 2008 and for the February 2009 shooting death of Germaine Evans Sr. in a Cincinnati park. Evans’ murder carried the possibility of a death penalty because he was killed so that he could not implicate McKelton in Allen’s death, which is an aggravating factor, according to Ohio law.

    The jury also recommended McKelton receive a death sentence.

    http://www.middletownjournal.com/new...ce-992654.html

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    The Supreme Court of Ohio will hear oral arguments in Calvin S. McKelton v. State of Ohio, Case no. 2010-2198 on Tuesday beginning @ 9:00 a.m. EST

    You may view live video stream here

    Death Penalty

    Butler County Common Pleas Court

    Calvin S. McKelton is appealing his convictions and death sentence for the murder of a girlfriend and the murder of an acquaintance believed to have witnessed the murder and helped cover it up.

    McKelton and Margaret Allen of Fairfield lived together for a few years. In July 2008, Allen was strangled, and her body was found in Schmidt Field in Cincinnati. Early the next year, a friend of the couple’s, Germaine Evans, was also murdered.

    McKelton was arrested and charged with both murders. The case was considered by a jury, which found McKelton guilty in October 2010 of murdering Allen. It also convicted him of killing Evans to prevent him from testifying about Allen’s death – an aggravating factor that allows for a death sentence. McKelton was also convicted of felonious assault, domestic violence, arson, tampering with evidence, and gross abuse of a corpse. The trial court agreed with the jury’s recommendation to impose the death penalty.

    In the appeal to the Supreme Court, McKelton’s attorneys make 21 arguments to persuade the court to overturn McKelton’s convictions, give him a new trial, or impose a life sentence.

    Claims from the Defendant

    Among the assertions made in McKelton’s brief to the court:

    McKelton’s main lawyer at trial, Richard Goldberg, had to withdraw from the case a few weeks before the trial because the state informed him that one of its witnesses was someone Goldberg also represented. McKelton’s other two attorneys had been appointed by the court to focus on the death penalty parts of the case. Those attorneys asked to withdraw as his counsel after Goldberg’s departure, but the court denied the motion and their requests to postpone the proceedings. In this appeal, McKelton’s attorneys contend that the late notice and breakdown led to ineffective assistance of counsel for McKelton and denied him a fair trial.

    They argue the state didn’t have appropriate grounds to withhold the names of eight witnesses until the night before trial because McKelton was in prison and couldn’t jeopardize the safety of any witnesses. They also maintain that defense counsel wasn’t given adequate time to review information from the witnesses to prepare for trial.

    They contend that the potential jurors heard about media coverage of the case during voir dire, which violated McKelton’s right to an impartial jury.

    They assert that potential jurors should’ve been questioned individually to prevent tainting the jury.

    They argue that statements about domestic abuse made by Allen to her friends before her death were inadmissible during the trial. They assert the court wrongly allowed the hearsay comments under the “forfeiture by wrongdoing exception,” which requires McKelton to have made Allen unavailable to testify as a witness. McKelton’s attorneys counter that McKelton wasn’t charged with killing Allen to keep her from testifying, and there is no evidence that Allen was planning to report any domestic violence to authorities. The state’s witnesses all testified that McKelton got into a physical fight with Allen and accidentally killed her, they maintain.

    Responses from the State

    On behalf of the state, attorneys from the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office respond with several arguments:

    They maintain McKelton wanted to replace his court-appointed counsel because he disagreed with their recommendation that he consider a plea carrying no death sentence. This reason isn’t an appropriate ground for discharging counsel, the prosecutors contend. They also argue that McKelton’s request for a continuance was connected with his motion to get new lawyers, so no delay was needed once the court denied the appointment of new counsel.

    They assert that McKelton has shown a willingness to intimidate possible witnesses and was convicted once for the offense. The prosecutors contend that eight of their witnesses wouldn’t have testified if their names had been disclosed before trial, and withholding their names until the night before is allowed by court rules for criminal cases.

    On the issue of individual voir dire, the state maintains that the Ohio Supreme Court has refused to require individual questioning of potential jurors in death penalty cases. It was proper for the prosecution to ask the jury pool about their exposure to pretrial publicity, and the court also cautioned jurors that news reports aren’t reliable and aren’t evidence in a trial, the attorneys argue.

    They maintain that the U.S. Supreme Court held in a case involving domestic violence that hearsay evidence can be admitted when the person who made the statements is unavailable because of the defendant’s actions and when the conduct was motivated in part to silence the person. The state concludes that testimony from two of Allen’s nieces, who had each called police about separate instances of violence in the house, and other evidence show that McKelton intended to isolate Allen and keep her from reporting any abuse to police or cooperating in a criminal case, which permits the admission of Allen’s prior statements.

    - Kathleen Maloney

    Docket entries, memoranda, briefs (including amicus briefs), and other information about this case may be accessed through the case docket.

    Contacts
    Representing Calvin S. McKelton: Pamela Prude-Smithers, 614.466.5394

    Representing the State of Ohio from the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office: Lina N. Alkamhawi, 513.887.3474
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Appeal denied for death row inmate who killed Fairfield attorney

    The 12th District Court of Appeals has affirmed the decision of the Butler County Court of Common Pleas in denying a death row inmate’s petition for post-conviction relief after he was sentenced to death in 2010 for the murder of Fairfield attorney Margaret Allen and Germaine Lamar Evans.

    Calvin McKelton was convicted following jury trial and found guilty of murder, aggravated murder, felonious assault, domestic violence, aggravated arson, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse for the killing of Allen and Evans, who was a witness to the murder of Allen.

    While his direct appeal was still pending to the Ohio Supreme Court, McKelton filed a petition to the trial court for conviction and sentence consideration citing 34 grounds for error, including allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court denied McKelton’s petition without holding a hearing.

    On appeal, McKelton argued the trial court erred by denying his petition for post-conviction relief without holding a hearing because he presented sufficient facts to demonstrate a violation of his constitutional rights.

    In a unanimous decision handed down today, the appeals court denied affirmed the trial court’s decision and denied McKelton’s appeal. The appellate judges determined that McKelton’s claims were either not supported by the evidence or were now barred as he could have raised them as part of his direct appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.

    http://www.journal-news.com/news/new...ed-fair/nn2cX/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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