OH: TV drama comes to life

[seamusTX]

(Writers of TV dramas whose creative juices have dried up like to invent plots involving identical twins.)

In January 2008, in the Dayton, Ohio, area, masked men broke into an apartment and robbed the residents. One of them beat and fatally shot a 17-year-old male who lived there.

The victim had a twin brother who was not home at the time.

A month later, police arrested the twin (who was literally a choir boy) and charged him with his brother's murder. They said that they found a bloody palm-print on the scene that matched the defendant's hand.

The only blood on the scene had to have come from the victim or the defendant.

The defendant was certified to stand trial as an adult. The case went to a jury trial in March. The judge declared a mistrial when one of the jurors became unable to complete deliberations.

Today, prosecutors dropped all charges after testing revealed that the palm print was not bloody after all, and no other evidence linked the defendant to the crime.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD99TL2683" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohi ... 38622.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So the kid only had a year-and-a-half of his life poured down the drain, and the real killer has not been found.

- Jim

[LaserTex]

Jim - in cases like this....an investigation(IA), after the fact, HAS to occur right? Who is at fault? The officers? The DA? There is a LOT of time after the "event" only to find out that the palm print was with butter or chocolate syrup (or any number of other items that would be found in a house where 2 poeple live.)

He can still sue to get monetary compensation for the ruination of his life....is that it? I would want "the somebodies" responsible for flushing my life down the toilet to pay (and to ENSURE that the people that FAILED in this case wouldn't do it again - and everyone around them to THINK.)

D

[seamusTX]

State laws vary, but a criminal defendant who has his case dismissed in this way generally can't get compensation unless he can prove gross negligence or actual malice in his wrongful prosecution.

In this case, they may be able to blame the mistake on an error by an inexperienced evidence technician or some such thing.

I just hope the kid can get on with his life instead of having a huge chip on his shoulder.

- Jim