Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Ohio Death Penalty Information

Criminal Law

: Ohio Death Penalty Information

William Garner conviction and death sentence reversed by US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

A three-judge panel (Moore, Martin, Rogers) of the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed the conviction and death sentence of Ohio death row inmate William Garner by a 2-1 vote (Rogers dissenting), and remanded the case back to the US District Court for Southern Ohio to, in turn, order a new trial.  The court found that the borderline-retarded Garner's waiver of his Miranda rights at the time of arrest, followed by the signing of a confession to certain elements of the crime (a botched burglary, accompanied by arson (for the purpose of hiding fingerprints), that led to the death of five children) was not "knowingly and intelligently" made (and not harmless error).  (The court did not address the issue of lack of specific intent to kill the children, or the failure of trial counsel to challenge the Miranda waiver, or counsel's failure to properly secure expert testimony for the mitigation phase of the trial sentencing proceeding -- all of which, along with several other apparent problems at the original trial, can now be addressed at retrial...continue to full post

Full post as published by Ohio Death Penalty Information on September 11, 2007 (boomark / email).