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Thread: Joe D'Ambrosio - Ohio

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    Joe D'Ambrosio - Ohio




    Whatever happened to Joe D'Ambrosio?

    Whatever happened to Joe D'Ambrosio, who walked out of a Cuyahoga County courtroom last March as a free man, having spent the better part of 21 years behind bars and on death row?

    D'Ambrosio is still awaiting results of a federal appeal by the state of Ohio that would allow him to be retried for the grisly murder of Tony Klann in 1988.

    A jogger found Klann's body floating in Doan Brook in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park.

    D'Ambrosio could not be reached for an interview, but the Rev. Neil Kookoothe, the Catholic priest who rescued D'Ambrosio from prison, said he lives in North Royalton with a friend and works when he can.

    He's also thinking about enrolling in trade school, said John Lewis, a Jones Day attorney who represents D'Ambrosio.

    Kookoothe said D'Ambrosio is trying to put his life back together and is finding that a lot has changed since he was imprisoned. The price of groceries and gasoline is shocking, he said, and so is the evolution of electronic gadgets.

    "I mean the technology just blows him away," Kookoothe said, especially the fact that he can take a picture with a cell phone.

    Last October, D'Ambrosio went with Kookoothe and members of his St. Clarence Church in North Olmsted on an 11-day trip to Greece.

    D'Ambrosio won his freedom after Kookoothe began looking into his case more than a decade ago. A cadre of lawyers eventually convinced a federal judge that Cuyahoga County prosecutors had failed to provide evidence to D'Ambrosio's lawyers that could have exonerated him.

    In September 2008, U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley ruled that D'Ambrosio must be retried within 180 days or set free. The following March, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg released D'Ambrosio from prison and allowed him to live under house arrest.

    After the main witness against D'Ambrosio died, O'Malley ruled that D'Ambrosio can't be retried. Synenberg then released D'Ambrosio from house arrest, dismissed all charges against him and chastised county prosecutors for their handling of the case.

    The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held a hearing on O'Malley's decision in November and Lewis said he expects a decision within three to six months.

    Lewis said the appeal hinges on a whether O'Malley had the power to bar retrial, not the reasoning she used in doing so.

    "It's a technical jurisdictional issue that was raised by the state," he said.

    Michael Keenan, who was tried separately for Klann's murder and still sits on death row, hopes the revelations in D'Ambrosio's case will free him one day, too.

    Keenan has always professed his innocence and recently asked for an expedited decision on a new trial based on his claim that facts in his case were the same as those that led to D'Ambrosio getting a new trial.

    Senior U.S. District Judge David Katz denied Keenan's request, saying that just because D'Ambrosio was given relief, doesn't mean Keenan should get the same. Keenan's claim will have to be considered independently and on its own merits, said his attorney, assistant federal public defender Vicki Werneke.

    http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011..._joe_da_2.html

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    Today, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court's granting an unconditional writ of habeas corpus and barring D’Ambrosio’s reprosecution.

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    Federal appeals court bars a second murder trial of Joe D'Ambrosio; county prosecutors mulling appeal

    A federal appeals court Monday barred the re-prosecution of Joe D'Ambrosio, who spent more than 21 years in prison and on death row for the 1988 murder of Tony Klann.

    But the long-running case may not be over, according to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason's office.

    "We are reviewing the court's opinion and considering an appeal," said Michael O'Malley, Mason's chief assistant. "Clearly, even the appeals panel was split on this case."

    D'Ambrosio was released from prison in 2009 after a federal judge ruled that Cuyahoga County prosecutors had failed to provide evidence that could have exonerated him. A team of lawyers led by John Lewis of the Jones Day law firm and working for free, have fought on D'Ambrosio's behalf for the past decade.

    Lewis said he hoped the ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati -- a 2-1 decision -- would provide the final chapter in D'Ambrosio's quest for freedom.

    "I believe this should end the state prosecution of Joe D'Ambrosio for a crime he didn't commit," Lewis said.

    D'Ambrosio's defense team cleared the latest hurdle by persuading a majority of the federal appeals court panel that U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley was authorized to rule in 2008 that D'Ambrosio had to be retried within 180 days or be set free.

    In 2009, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg released D'Ambrosio from prison and allowed him to live under house arrest while county prosecutors prepared to take him to trial.

    Last year, prosecutors disclosed the death of a key witness - one the other two defendants convicted in the murder -- resulting in U.S. District Judge O'Malley prohibiting the re-prosecution of D'Ambrosio. Then, Common Pleas Judge Synenberg dismissed all charges against him.

    The argument before the federal appeals court hinged on whether O'Malley had the power to bar the retrial, not the reasoning she used in doing so. The court majority cited a vast offering of prior legal opinions in support of its ruling.

    Judge Danny Boggs, in his dissenting opinion, argued that O'Malley exceeded her jurisdiction. At the same time, he criticized county prosecutors for botching the original D'Ambrosio trial by withholding evidence.

    The prosecutor's office is "now in the position where it may have to let a man it believes to be a murderer go forever free," Boggs wrote. "Whether D'Ambrosio deserves that windfall I cannot say, although, after more than 20 years of bungling his criminal proceedings, surely the state deserves that penalty."

    Lewis said he called D'Ambrosio at his maintenance job Friday morning to deliver the news. "Obviously, he was pleased," Lewis said. "Joe just wants to go on with his life. He's working at putting his life back together. He's not concerned about anybody else's motives."

    Meanwhile, a third defendant in the murder case, Michael Keenan, remains on death row. He is hoping the revelations in D'Ambrosio's case will help him to win his freedom, too.

    http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011..._bars_a_s.html

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    US Supreme Court decision means Ohioan stays free

    The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a decision that prevents prosecutors from pursuing another trial against a man who spent two decades on Ohio's death row.

    The Court on Monday rejected a request by the state to review an August ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that favored former inmate Joe D'Ambrosio.

    D'Ambrosio spent more than 21 years behind bars after being convicted of murder in the 1988 death of 19-year-old Tony Klann, whose body was found in a creek at a Cleveland park. He was released in 2009, about three years after a federal judge ruled that prosecutors failed to provide evidence that could have exonerated him.

    In a Tuesday statement, D'Ambrosio said, "Today was 23 years in the making. ... Justice has finally prevailed."

    http://news.cincinnati.com/usatoday/...CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

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    Former death row prisoner Joe D'Ambrosio suing state for wrongful imprisonment

    CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Joe D'Ambrosio, a former death row inmate for 21 years, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the state for wrongful imprisonment.

    D'Ambrosio wants compensation for being wrongly imprisoned by the state, plus compensation for lost wages and attorneys fees, said Terry H. Gilbert, one of D'Ambrosio's attorneys.

    The suit names the State of Ohio as the defendant and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor William D. Mason, whom Gilbert said acted on behalf of the state.

    The 50-year-old North Royalton resident would be eligible for more than $1 million if Cuyahoga County Judge Michael J. Russo determined that D'Ambrosio qualifies for compensation.

    http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012...e_dambros.html

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    Former death row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio gets OK to sue state for wrongful imprisonment

    Former death row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio can seek reimbursement from the state for his 21 years of wrongful imprisonment, a Cuyahoga County judge ruled Friday.

    He could be eligible for $1 million.

    In a hearing that took less than five minutes, Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Russo ruled that D'Ambrosio and his attorneys can file the lawsuit in the Ohio Court of Claims in Columbus.

    "We believe the judge was right on the mark with the law," said D'Ambrosio's lawyer, Terry Gilbert. "Joe D'Ambrosio was clearly wrongfully imprisoned based on court decisions over the years. Prosecutors failed to disclose favorable evidence. This is an important day for Joe. He can now get some compensation for being wrongfully imprisoned on death row for over 20 years."

    D'Ambrosio, 51, of North Royalton, was convicted of the 1988 murder of Anthony Klann of Cleveland, whose body was found floating in Doan Brook in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park, which follows Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. D'Ambrosio was sentenced to death on Feb. 23, 1989.

    But a federal judge overturned the conviction in 2006, ruling that prosecutors withheld evidence that might have exonerated him at trial. He was released from prison in 2009 after 21 years.

    Prosecutors appealed, but in August, 2011, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld U.S. District Court Judge Kate O'Malley's ruling forbidding the reprosecution of D'Ambrosio.

    The Ohio Attorney General then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the High Court refused to hear the state's appeal Jan. 23 last year -- thereby ending the case and opening the door to D'Ambrosio's lawsuits to seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment.

    The county has always questioned D'Ambrosio's innocence and assistant county prosecutor Matthew Meyer was miffed with the ruling. Meyer said D'Ambrosio admitted to burglary and the kidnapping of Klann on the night of his murder, a statement that was recorded by investigators.

    "It's absurd to make an admitted kidnapper a millionaire," Meyer said.

    The common pleas court filing is a procedural matter that D'Ambrosio had to follow. Anyone filing a wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against the state must first go through common pleas court to get a declaration. If the judge rules in the inmate's favor, the lawsuit can then be filed in the court of claims.

    Jennie Parks from the Ohio Court of Claims said D'Ambrosio could be eligible to receive $47,823.17 a year for 21 years – which totals $1,004,285.50.

    D'Ambrosio also filed a $42 million lawsuit in federal court in May against Cuyahoga County, which Meyer said will be harder to collect. That lawsuit in still ongoing.

    "The Ohio law is very controversial regarding wrongful imprisonment lawsuits," Meyer said. "In Ohio, all you have to do is show an error in procedure led to your imprisonment. In federal court, you can't cash in on a technicality. You must be proven innocent."

    Separately, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joan Synenberg sealed D'Ambrosio's criminal case on Friday following a hearing earlier in the day. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office plans to appeal Synenberg's decision.

    http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index..._pleas_co.html
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    Federal judge throws out lawsuit by Joe D'Ambrosio, former death row inmate

    A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit accusing Cuyahoga County prosecutors and a Cleveland homicide detective of withholding evidence in the 1988 murder trial of Joe D’Ambrosio.

    U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster concluded that prosecutor Carmen Marino had "trampled" on D’Ambrosio’s rights. But Polster ruled that a federal doctrine granted prosecutors an absolute immunity from lawsuits alleging misconduct.

    "While all this may seem cold comfort to D’Ambrosio, [this] lawsuit is not his sole remedy," Polster wrote. "The Court observes that, just recently, a state court judge cleared the way for D’Ambrosio to collect up to $1 million from a State of Ohio compensation fund for the 21 years he spent in prison."

    D’Ambrosio, 51, of North Royalton, was sentenced to death in 1989 for the murder of Anthony Klann, whose body was found floating in Doan Brook in Cleveland’s Rockefeller Park.

    A judge overturned the conviction in 2006, ruling that prosecutors withheld evidence that might have exonerated him at trial. He was released from prison in 2010 after spending 21 years behind bars. And two weeks ago, he won another court victory when a judge ruled that he could seek compensation of up to $1 million for his time in prison.

    Had he prevailed with the federal lawsuit, D’Ambrosio intended to seek a "substantially larger amount of money" than the $1 million he potentially could receive from the state Court of Claims, said Terry Gilbert, one of D’Ambrosio’s lawyers.

    While criticizing Marino in his 29-page opinion, Polster ruled that then-County Prosecutor Bill Mason, who assisted Marino at the trial, did nothing wrong in the case. Likewise, Polster also absolved homicide Det. Leo Allen of any wrongdoing.

    The judge said Allen had no obligation to turn over evidence to D’Ambrosio’s defense lawyers that might have helped him win acquittal.

    An additional claim against then-County Coroner Dr. Elizabeth Balraj was previously dismissed.

    Polster also defended the immunity granted to prosecutors. "Without it, men and women of character and integrity would be less willing to serve as prosecutors at the state or federal level, and/or might be adversely impacted in making the difficult decisions the position requires," he wrote.

    Gilbert said Thursday he intends to appeal the dismissal.

    "There are various legal issues and complicated questions of immunity for prosecutors that need to be fully fleshed out in a higher court," Gilbert said. "It is important to make sure that all of our appeals are exhausted."

    Attorney Edmund Searby, a partner in the Baker & Hostetler law firm who represented the county and the former prosecutors, noted that no federal judge who reviewed the evidence found that D’Ambrosio was innocent of the murder of Tony Klann.

    "This was not a case of an innocent man who was wrongfully convicted," Searby said. "He’s fortunate not to be in prison. We worked our hardest not to pay this guy a dime."

    When questioned about the D'Ambrosio case in 2006, Marino, 70, said he never concealed evidence from anyone. Such allegations, he said, were absurd.

    http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index...1/post_93.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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    Joe D'Ambrosio trial featured on CNN's 'Death Row Stories'

    CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 1989 Cleveland trial of Joe D'Ambrosio will be featured on the episode of "Death Row Stories" premiering at 9 p.m. Sunday, March 23.

    D'Ambrosio, of North Royalton, was convicted of the 1988 murder of 19-year-old Anthony Klann of Cleveland. Klann's body was found floating in Doan Brook in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park, which follows Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. D'Ambrosio, an Army veteran, was sentenced to death on Feb. 23, 1989, in what was likely the shortest capital case in state history.

    D'Ambrosio was on death row for more than 10 years when a lawyer-turned-priest, Father Neil Kookoothe, began investigating the case. D'Ambrosio and Kookoothe are among those interviewed for the "Death Row Stories" episode, which is titled "Blood & Water."

    Also interviewed in producer-director Steve Rivo's report is Chris Longenecker, Klann's roommate. He describes being raped by a man whom the defense believes may have committed the murder.

    A federal judge overturned D'Ambrosio's conviction in 2006, ruling that prosecutors withheld evidence that might have exonerated him at trial. He was released from prison in 2009 after 21 years.

    Prosecutors appealed, but in August, 2011, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld U.S. District Court Judge Kate O'Malley's ruling forbidding D'Ambrosio's reprosecution. The Ohio Attorney General then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but, in January 2012, the High Court refused to hear the state's appeal.

    Robert Redford's Sundance Productions is one of the producing partners responsible for "Death Row Stories." Executive producers include Academy Award-winner Alex Gibney, and Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon narrates each episode.

    http://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/ind...w_stories.html
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    Federal appellate court upholds decision to toss out D'Ambrosio lawsuit against prosecutors, detective

    A federal appellate court Thursday upheld a judge’s decision to throw out Joe D’Ambrosio’s lawsuit that accused Cuyahoga County prosecutors and a Cleveland detective of withholding evidence.

    One of D’Ambrosio’s attorneys, David Mills, said he spoke with his client, and they are considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Mills called it an injustice that the case was thrown out so early in the process last year in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, before attorneys had the chance to access evidence and question witnesses.

    The ruling by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals came a year after Judge Dan Aaron Polster said now-retired prosecutor, Carmen Marino, had “trampled’’ D’Ambrosio’s rights. But the judge stressed that federal law grants prosecutors an absolute immunity from lawsuits that allege misconduct.

    In order to prevail in the suit, the appellate court ruled, D’Ambrosio would have needed to prove that Cuyahoga County prosecutors had a persistent pattern, or policy, of failing to turn over evidence to D’Ambrosio and other criminal defendants.

    “They stated no facts, and I’m aware of no facts, that would support Cuyahoga County ever had a policy of withholding exculpatory evidence from criminal defendants,’’ said Edmund Searby, an attorney at Baker Hostetler who represented the county.

    D’Ambrosio, 52, of North Royalton, was sentenced to death in 1989 for the murder of Anthony Klann, whose body was found floating in Doan Brook in Cleveland’s Rockefeller Park.

    A federal judge overturned the conviction in 2006, ruling that prosecutors withheld evidence that might have exonerated him at trial. He was released from prison in 2010 after spending 21 years behind bars.

    The appellate court’s ruling said D’Ambrosio’s lawsuit “focuses on Marino’s rather storied history of improper conduct, alleging that ‘Marino had a policy of not allowing defense attorneys to copy relevant documents regarding the case….’’’

    The decision also cited the lawsuit’s claim that “Marino ‘has a shameful track record of breaking rules to win convictions.’’’

    The appellate ruling agreed: “There is no question that the individual prosecutors involved in D’Ambrosio’s case violated rights secured to him by the Constitution.’’

    But the appellate court said the allegations did not prove “the existence of an official county policy of violating criminal defendants’ constitutional rights.’’

    D’Ambrosio also alleged that Leo Allen, a Cleveland homicide detective, “was privy’’ to evidence that would have helped D’Ambrosio’s case but withheld it from the defense. The appellate court said Allen was never required to disclose it to the defense, only to prosecutors.

    Mills, an attorney for D’Ambrosio, said he is considering asking for a hearing before the entire panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals before taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling released Thursday was written by three judges.

    In a separate case, D’Ambrosio is seeking compensation under Ohio law for wrongful imprisonment for his time behind bars. The case is pending possible review before the Ohio Supreme Court. D’Ambrosio could earn about $1 million in that case if he prevails.
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    Former death row inmate shares story in Stark

    JACKSON TWP. - Joe D’Ambrosio recounted the sense of hopelessness he struggled with while imprisoned for a murder conviction.

    The military veteran, found guilty in the stabbing death of a 19-year-old man, was sentenced to death in 1989.

    D’Ambrosio said he had been wrongfully convicted in the Cleveland case. But nobody would believe him, nobody would listen. Appeals had been lost. He was running out of legal options.

    D’Ambrosio shared his plight with those attending the annual Law Day luncheon at Kent State University’s Stark campus, hosted by the Stark County Bar Association. D’Ambrosio and Father Neil Kookoothe were keynote speakers. The event is one of several this week marking Law Week 2017.

    “I was never in trouble before with the law,” said D’Ambrosio, who grew up in North Royalton. “... I never thought in my life I would see one day behind bars.”

    His murder trial, he said, lasted less than three days. “I was just a common Joe and the next thing I know, I’m sitting on death row.”

    The defendant had turned to the law in an attempt to prove his innocence. Frustration mounted as he lost appeals.

    “I was writing stacks and stacks of letters,” D’Ambrosio said, referring to media outlets, law schools and journalism schools. “Nobody listens to the dead man walking. Nobody listens to the convicted murderer.”

    D’Ambrosio and Kookoothe were brought together when the priest visited another death row inmate. Kookoothe didn’t know D’Ambrosio but they ended up talking, and D’Ambrosio pleaded for the minister to believe in his innocence.

    He convinced Kookoothe to read the transcript of his trial. The pastor, who holds degrees in both law and nursing as well as theology, immediately had questions about evidence; some of it didn’t make sense. Most glaring were knife wounds that were inconsistent with testimony that the victim screamed after his throat was severely cut, Kookoothe said. And he discovered evidence that hadn’t been presented at trial.

    A co-defendant had testified that another man slit Anthony Klann’s throat and D’Ambrosio then stabbed him to death. A three-judge panel convicted D’Ambrosio.

    Eventually, the unlikely tandem of convict and clergyman learned the person who implicated D’Ambrosio had his own motive for killing Klann, Kookoothe said. The priest also worked tirelessly to attract media interest in the death row case, which was featured on CNN’s “Death Row Stories.”

    But “Joe is standing here today as a free man because of pro-bono attorneys who took this man’s case,” Kookoothe declared.

    In 2006, a federal judge overturned D’Ambrosio’s conviction after ruling Cuyahoga County prosecutors withheld evidence that could have exonerated him. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the state’s appeal.

    D’Ambrosio’s case led to changes in laws regarding what evidence prosecutors must share with defense attorneys.

    http://www.cantonrep.com/news/201705...story-in-stark
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