justus 4 shawn
SHAWN IS AN INNOCENT MAN! ........................ (scroll down) Shawn had absolutely no involvement in this crime that he was charged with and unjustly convicted of The States key witness, Henry Brown, a juvenile at the time, stated at trial that he saw Shawn commit these horrible acts and was at the scene when the murders took place. As a result of initially implicating himself, Henry Brown entered into an agreement with the prosecutors that consisted of full Immunity for his testimony. He changed his story multiple times, prior to, during, and after the trial; failed at least two polygraph tests that we know of, lied about his alibi the night of the murders (his alibi was later contradicted by his own witnesses).During the Post convictionof Shawns case Henry Brown told investigators acting on Shawns behalf that he had lied at Shawns trial and Mr. Brown had confessed to participating in the homicides (keep in mind, he implicated himself prior to trial, which led to his being granted full immunity).The gun used to murder Terrance and Diamond was eventually found. Henry Brown testified that he never owned a 25 caliber pearl handle gun. In 1990 a mutual friend of Henry Brown and Shawn contacted Judy Hogan, Shawns mother, and told her Henry Brown asked him to hide a .25 caliber gun for him. The friend had buried the gun. The friend took Shawns Mother directly to where the gun was buried, recovered the gun and turned it over to prosecutors. Shawn filed a motion for a new trial. The motion was denied because tests on the weapon were inconclusive because the weapon was too rusted due to the elements from being buried. One year after Shawns conviction, Henry Brown robbed two others at gunpoint in a manner similar to and consistent with the murders of Terrance Richard and Diamond Marteen; even possessing and using the exact same kind of weapon he testified to have witnessed Shawn use. He is currently serving a four to seven year sentence for a separate aggravated robbery.The conduct of the police investigators during the case was reprehensible. Their entire agenda was on closing the case and not bothering to find the actual killer(s) of these two young men. There is an existing audio tape (in the possession of Shawns attorney) of the police investigators where one detective makes the disturbing and telling statement: two dead niggers in Mt. Healthy referring to Terrance Richard and Diamond Marteen. This is the police talking.This demonstrates how emphatically they disregarded and devalued the lives of blacks (young black men in particular) and did not hesitate to do whatever was necessary (including what they failed to do) to help convict and ruin the life of another innocent black man. At trial, they (the police investigators) conveniently testified that they lost their notes regarding what Shawn told them during the investigation, which was important to their case regarding Shawns presence in the car of the young men. The fact of the matter is that Shawn told them during the initial interview that he was in the car when they came to see him earlier in the day, as well as on several other prior occasions, but during the trial they wanted to establish in the jurors eyes that he had never been in the young mens car, except as the perpetrator of this crime. This is where the partial print in blood enters the picture.The police claimed to have found a partial print in blood on an notebook in the rear of the car of the two young men. The so-called partial print in blood was secretly sent to an outside crime lab by the fingerprint examiner (Mr. Mike Suder) who worked on the case. The crime lab (Miami Valley) which had the latest in laser technology determined that the aforementioned print (along with others) could not be enhanced, lifted, or identified and as a result they could not be of any help to the States case. It should be noted, too, that when these prints were in the custody of this outside lab, some of this material was destroyed during the testing process. None of this information was made available to Shawns attorneys. The states examiner, who had never worked on a blood print in his career up to that point, claimed he took the so-called partial print in blood back to his office and miraculously not only enhanced but made an identification on it by simply dusting it gently with magna powder; something an outside crime lab with all the necessary experience and latest technology failed to do. Shawns defense attorneys only discovered the truth about this information years later during Federal Discovery. The so-called partial print in blood is questionable and completely unreliable as evidence against Shawn. The facts and circumstances surrounding this particular print is cause for grave concern.Even though the State claimed to believe Henry Browns story which included implicating Shawns sister Stephanie and a mutual friend named Robbie Burns as participating in the crime, the state never even bothered arresting or charging either of them. This illuminates the fact that they never cared about finding the actual killer(s); they were only fixed on Shawn for their own unjustifiable reasons. Newspaper accounts in the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Cincinnati Post during Shawns trial stated that Shawn and the States key witness Henry Brown were cousins which is not true. These news accounts of the trial made Henry Browns testimony of lies more believable the public as well as jurors (jurors were not sequestered) who were exposed to these newspaper stories during trial. The stories made Henry Brown appear as though he was lying to protect his family member (Shawn) while in reality they were not even remotely related. The overriding question is who provided the newspapers with the information stating Shawn and Henry Brown were cousins.Shawn had ineffective assistance of legal counselInvestigation of Henry Browns alibi was not made during the guilt phase of the trial but was made during the penalty phase of the trial. Henry Browns alibi would have been negated during the trial had the witnesses,Tommica Washington, her father, and family friend Rhonda Calhoun been called to testify that he was not with them as Brown testified. Henry Brown testified he was at the home of Tommica Washington from 8:30 pm until 12:30 am and upon leaving her home he witnessed Shawn committing these murders. Tommica Washington, her father, and friend, Rhonda Calhoun came in court and testified that Henry Brown was not at their home but this was during the penalty phase of the trial after Shawn had already been found guilty. Shawns attorney did not do anything to correct the newspaper accounts mentioned above the Shawn and Henry Brown were cousins. This fact could have been brought to the attention of the court and the Judge would have made it clear to the jurors that a family relationship did not exist between Shawn and the States key witness.Another significant instance or ineffective assistance of legal counsel occurred when Shawn was told by his attorney that there was no way he would be convicted of these crimes based on the weak evidence . Based on that assessment, Shawn testified in his own defense. Shawns attorney did not call key witnesses during the trial that would have totally disproved the alibi of Henry Brown. The jury in Shawns trial issued him a death sentence without hearing any mitigating evidence, even though such evidence was readily available. Instead, during the penalty phase of Shawns trial, his attorney berated and threatened the jury for their guilty conviction and failed to call upon any witnesses on Shawns behalf. Counsels entire closing argument focused on berating and threatening the jury for its prior determination of Shawns guilt. The District Court later ruled that Shawn had ineffective assistance of counsel which would have reversed the death sentence. This decision was subsequently reversed by a higher court.During this period it has been determined that the composition of Grand Juries in Hamilton County were woefully under represented by blacks and other minorities especially as to forepersons, the most important member.
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