Clarence Mack v. Margaret Bradshaw, Warden
United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio and Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga County
In 1991 Clarence Mack was arrested,tried and convicted for the homicide of Cleveland businessman Peter Sanelli which occurred in downtown Cleveland. At the conclusion of his trial in the Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga Courts, a death sentence was imposed. His appeals to the Eighth District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court were unsuccessful. (See State v.Mack, 73 Ohio St. 3d 502 (1995) Judge Solomon Oliver of the United States District Court appointed Mr. Gibbons and his co-counsel to represent Mack in Federal Habeas Corpus proceedings. Attorney Gibbons and co-counsel attacked the conviction on the basis that Exculpatory Evidence was not disclosed by the Prosecutor at the original trial. Gibbons and his co-counsel re-examined the ballistics evidence presented at trial and discovered that Mack could not and, did not, fire the fatal shots which caused the victim’s death. Under Ohio Law, this simple fact removes the death penalty specification from his sentence and would result in the imposition of a Life Sentence and transfer from Death Row into the general prison population. Judge Oliver conducted a lengthy hearing on Mack’s claims and determined that the case should be remanded to the State Courts for further fact finding. Recently, Judge Brendan Sheehan conducted an Evidential Hearing in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. His decision is pending. Mr. Gibbons remains optimistic that Mack’s case can be won by either the removal of the death sentence and the imposition of a lesser “life in prison” sentence or by the granting of an entirely new trial.
United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio and Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga County
In 1991 Clarence Mack was arrested,tried and convicted for the homicide of Cleveland businessman Peter Sanelli which occurred in downtown Cleveland. At the conclusion of his trial in the Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga Courts, a death sentence was imposed. His appeals to the Eighth District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court were unsuccessful. (See State v.Mack, 73 Ohio St. 3d 502 (1995) Judge Solomon Oliver of the United States District Court appointed Mr. Gibbons and his co-counsel to represent Mack in Federal Habeas Corpus proceedings. Attorney Gibbons and co-counsel attacked the conviction on the basis that Exculpatory Evidence was not disclosed by the Prosecutor at the original trial. Gibbons and his co-counsel re-examined the ballistics evidence presented at trial and discovered that Mack could not and, did not, fire the fatal shots which caused the victim’s death. Under Ohio Law, this simple fact removes the death penalty specification from his sentence and would result in the imposition of a Life Sentence and transfer from Death Row into the general prison population. Judge Oliver conducted a lengthy hearing on Mack’s claims and determined that the case should be remanded to the State Courts for further fact finding. Recently, Judge Brendan Sheehan conducted an Evidential Hearing in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. His decision is pending. Mr. Gibbons remains optimistic that Mack’s case can be won by either the removal of the death sentence and the imposition of a lesser “life in prison” sentence or by the granting of an entirely new trial.