Cleveland R. Jackson, Jr. v. Marc C. Houk, Warden
United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and United States Supreme Court.
Not every criminal case has a happy beginning or ending. In 2002, Cleveland R. Jackson Jr. and his brother participated in an Aggravated Robbery of the occupants of a home in Lima, Ohio. After the robberies were complete, Jackson and his brother lined all the occupants of the house up against a wall, to include a seventeen-year-old teen age girl and a three-year-old child, and opened fire on the group. The teenager and a three-year-old girl were killed. The other victims were seriously injured. The Death Penalty was imposed after Jackson was convicted at trial in the Court of Common Pleas for Allen County,Ohio. Jackson’s original Allen County Trial Attorneys were prohibited from questioning prospective Jurors on the question in whether the panel members would automatically impose the death sentence on a Defendant accused of killing a young child. The Ohio Supreme Court, as their remedy, vacated Jackson’s Death Sentence for the homicide of the three–year-old child, but maintained his Death Sentence for the homicide of the teenager. (See State of Ohio v. Jackson, 2005 Ohio 5981) Mr.Gibbons was then appointed by Judge Donald C. Nugent of the United States District Court to represent Jackson in Habeas Corpus proceedings in Federal Court. Mr. Gibbons worked on the case with his co-counsel. They unsuccessfully pursued a new Trial in the District Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and ultimately the United States Supreme Court. Jackson’s Appeals were denied at every level of the Federal Courts. An Execution date has been scheduled and the next likely step on Jackson’s behalf will be a Clemency Appeal and Hearing before the State Parole Board and an ultimate decision on clemency by the Governor of Ohio.
United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and United States Supreme Court.
Not every criminal case has a happy beginning or ending. In 2002, Cleveland R. Jackson Jr. and his brother participated in an Aggravated Robbery of the occupants of a home in Lima, Ohio. After the robberies were complete, Jackson and his brother lined all the occupants of the house up against a wall, to include a seventeen-year-old teen age girl and a three-year-old child, and opened fire on the group. The teenager and a three-year-old girl were killed. The other victims were seriously injured. The Death Penalty was imposed after Jackson was convicted at trial in the Court of Common Pleas for Allen County,Ohio. Jackson’s original Allen County Trial Attorneys were prohibited from questioning prospective Jurors on the question in whether the panel members would automatically impose the death sentence on a Defendant accused of killing a young child. The Ohio Supreme Court, as their remedy, vacated Jackson’s Death Sentence for the homicide of the three–year-old child, but maintained his Death Sentence for the homicide of the teenager. (See State of Ohio v. Jackson, 2005 Ohio 5981) Mr.Gibbons was then appointed by Judge Donald C. Nugent of the United States District Court to represent Jackson in Habeas Corpus proceedings in Federal Court. Mr. Gibbons worked on the case with his co-counsel. They unsuccessfully pursued a new Trial in the District Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and ultimately the United States Supreme Court. Jackson’s Appeals were denied at every level of the Federal Courts. An Execution date has been scheduled and the next likely step on Jackson’s behalf will be a Clemency Appeal and Hearing before the State Parole Board and an ultimate decision on clemency by the Governor of Ohio.
