Ohio Man’s Bid for Freedom Stalls Again

An Ohio judge halted a hearing Monday in the case of a man who has served 18 years in prison for a series of rapes he says he didn’t commit.

 

R. Dean Gillispie was identified by three rape victims in lineups conducted 23 months after three women were raped in 1988. He didn’t match the original description by the victims, and there was no physical evidence tying him to the crimes. Gillispie is represented by the Ohio Innocence Project and former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and has been seeking a new trial for years based on evidence that another man committed the crime.

 

Yesterday’s hearing was continued to next month after Judge A.J. Wagner learned the prosecutor’s office wasn’t notified about all of the witnesses being called to the stand.

“I was disappointed we weren’t able to go forward today,” Ohio Innocence Project Director Mark Godsey

told the Dayton Daily News

. “I think we will prevail, because the evidence is strong.”

 

Wagner denied Gillispie’s request two years ago without holding a hearing but last year the Ohio 2nd Court of Appeals told Wagner he must hold a hearing based on new evidence to determine if a new trial is warranted.

 


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