6th Circuit Orders New Sentencing for Rayshawn Johnson OH DR in 1997 Murder

[Jeff1857]

Judges order new sentence for Ohioan on death row


A federal appeals court in Cincinnati has ordered that a death row inmate who beat a woman to death should be resentenced because his lawyers didn't fully investigate his abusive childhood.

A 3-judge panel in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a split ruling Friday in the case of 30-year-old Rayshawn Johnson of Cincinnati.

He was convicted of aggravated murder in the November 1997 death of his neighbor. Prosecutors said Johnson entered her house through an unlocked back door and beat her to death with a baseball bat.

The Ohio Supreme Court rejected Johnson's appeals. But a U.S. district court ordered a new sentencing after agreeing that he wasn't effectively represented during sentencing. The appeals court affirmed that decision.

Prosecutors had argued that the defense attorneys couldn't be blamed because the grandmother and other people they interviewed had not provided information about the negative influence of Johnson's family.

(source: Associated Press)

[Aussie4DR]

Again with this childhood crap. 

Was his victim in any way a participant of the so called abuse dealt out to him in his childhood?
Did she abuse him in any way?
At any rate, how does this excuse this thug from murdering a woman with a baseball bat?
This is madness, utter madness. 

[JT]

What an inane decision.  Unless he murdered somebody directly related to his abusive childhood, it has no significance in his committing this murder.

I hope the Sixth Circus didn't release this verdict as a per curiam opinion.  The (two?) judges who voted for resentencing should be identified and booted off the Court.

[63Wildcat]

So I suppose that if anybody with an "abusive childhood" can just go out and arbitrarily beat the shit outta someone, kill them and not be considered for the DP... mmmmmmmmmmm.... oh an by the way they'd be to fat, and have a low IQ along with it.. 

[AnneTheBelgian]

http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20111128/NEWS01/111280308

Man gets 2nd chance to avoid death penalty

Nov. 28, 2011

Written by Associated Press

CINCINNATI -- A man convicted in 1998 of fatally beating a woman is getting a second chance to escape death row in a new sentencing trial that begins today in southwest Ohio.

Rayshawn Johnson was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering neighbor Shanon Marks, 29, of Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. His conviction stands, but his sentence was thrown out in 2008 by a federal appeals court in Cincinnati. The court ruled that Johnson's lawyers didn't fully investigate his abusive childhood.

The appeals court agreed with a district court's ruling that an effective defense could have humanized Johnson's case during sentencing by presenting information about physical abuse and drug use in his family. The appeals ruling noted that Johnson's attorneys did such a poor job in the penalty phase of Johnson's trial that he deserved a new trial -- but only to determine his sentence.

"The conviction stands. His guilt or innocence has been decided. It's not an issue here," said Will Welsh, one of Johnson's new attorneys.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters and his chief assistant won the conviction and death sentence 1998 and will try again to send Johnson to death row.

The most difficult part of the new trial for both sides will be not revealing that Johnson was sentenced to death for the killing, the newspaper reported. Jurors will have to accept that Johnson was convicted of capital murder, but they cannot be told that he was sentenced to die.

Jurors must base their decision on what they hear in the new trial.

Johnson, now 33, lived close to Marks and her husband, Norman. Authorities said Johnson slipped into the couple's house on Nov. 12, 1997, while Shanon Marks was getting ready for work on her third wedding anniversary.

Authorities said Johnson beat Marks with the bat 13 times. The last three blows were to her head and likely were intended to keep her from identifying her attacker, the newspaper reported. Marks' husband found her body 13 hours later.

When police interviewed her neighbors, they noticed Johnson was wearing the same shoes as those that left prints near Marks' body. Johnson later gave police three taped confessions.

Johnson's new attorneys will focus on his childhood in an attempt to gain sympathy from jurors and to persuade them to recommend life in prison instead of the death penalty.

"His mother was absolutely horrendous, Welsh said. "She was drug- and alcohol-addicted and was prostituting herself across the country at age 13. It's so bad, I couldn't make it up if I tried."

Johnson lived with his grandmother, who also was an alcoholic, and was subjected to constant beatings and neglect, Welsh said.

"The damage to this child was immeasurable," Welsh said.

The prosecutor said the damage done to Marks was worse.

Deters said the assistant coroner on the case told him he that "out of the 7,000 autopsies he's done, he'll never forget this" because of Marks' innocence and because of the brutality involved.

"I can't imagine what it was like for her family," Deters said.























Photo : The murderer Rayshawn Johnson


























Anne

[AnneTheBelgian]

http://www.local12.com/mostpopular/story/Trial-Begins-For-Re-Sentencing-of-Convicted-Killer/eek1sYo2i0iFPZaNl8gP5w.cspx

(with video)

December 1, 2011 - 10:05 PM

Published: 11/28 6:46 am

Updated: 11:01 am

Today, a new Hamilton County jury began the task of determining if an East Walnut Hills man already sentenced to die should go back to death row. Rayshawn Johnson was convicted of murdering his neighbor Shannon Marks more than a decade ago but because of a problem during his sentencing phase all those years ago, he's being re-sentenced by a new jury.

Johnson has already been convicted for beating his female neighbor to death with a baseball bat-that conviction was not overturned. But his sentence was when, during his death penalty appeals in 2008, federal judges ruled that Johnson's lawyers did not adequately represent him during the sentencing portion of his trial.

Starting this morning, a new jury began hearing all the evidence presented in the original case-plus new information about Rayshawn's childhood, which his new lawyers hope will sway the jurors to give him life in prison instead of the death penalty.

Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters told the jury that Johnson beat his next door neighbor Shannon Marks to death with a baseball bat after slipping in while Marks was was getting ready for work. Johnson cried and did not look up as crime scene photos and evidence were shown to the jury-many jurors also had a hard time looking at photos.  Deters says Johnson stole $50 from Marks purse, then made a choice to come back while she lay moaning and bleeding, and struck her in back of head three more times.

Johnson's attorney says he was an unwanted, unloved child raise by drug addicted mom and alcoholic grandma.

Earlier in the day,  jurors visited Marks home, where Johnson gave television interviews the day after her body was found. He told reporters he feared for his life as long as Marks murderer was on the loose. He was eventually caught when a detective noticed that the imprint from his Air Jordan tennis shoes matched a footprint in bathroom. The  interviews Marks gave before his arrest will eventually be played for jurors.

Tomorrow, Marks husband will testify-she was killed on their third anniversary.


































Anne

[AnneTheBelgian]

http://www.fox19.com/story/16187059/convicted-killer-could-take-stand-in-death-penalty-case

Convicted killer could take stand in re-sentencing phase

Posted: Dec 05, 2011 10:36 AM

Updated: Dec 05, 2011 1:48 PM

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -

A man facing the death penalty for killing a Cincinnati woman in 1997 could take the witness stand today.

Four members of Rayshawn Johnson's family could take the stand along with the 33-year-old convicted murderer.

One of those family members is Johnson's 14-year-old son, who was only a month old at the time of the killing back in 1997.

Rayshawn Johnson is guilty of murdering Shanon Marks back in 1997. He beat her to death with a baseball bat.

For the second time, a jury must decide if Johnson deserves the death penalty or life in prison.

He was sentenced to death in 1998, but a judge ordered him to be re-sentenced after an appeal because Johnson's attorneys did not do enough to save him, citing a past of abuse.

Throughout this trial the jury has not been told about Johnson's prior death sentence. The judge has asked the jury not to speak about the case or watch any media reports.

Johnson could to take the stand with plans to give an unsworn statement. That means he's not under oath and he can't be questioned by prosecutors. The jury should get the case late Monday or Tuesday.


























Anne

[AnneTheBelgian]

http://www.kypost.com/dpp/news/tri-state_news/Jury-reaffirms-death-sentence-for-convicted-murderer-Rayshawn-Johnson1323293174718

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Jury reaffirms death sentence for convicted murderer Rayshawn Johnson

Posted: 2:01 PM

Last Updated: 13 minutes ago

CINCINNATI - After a second day of deliberations, jurors in the Rayshawn Johnson murder sentencing retrial have decided to send Johnson back to death row.

The courtroom felt like it was collectively holding its breath Wednesday afternoon, as jurors were brought back into the courtroom after telling Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Ralph Winkler that they had reached a decision.

Johnson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1998, in the brutal beating death of next-door neighbor, Shanon Marks, in East Walnut Hills.

After hours of debate, jurors rejected pleas from Johnson, his family, his son and his attorneys to sentence him to life in prison.

Johnson showed no emotion when the verdict was read. None of his family members were present for the verdict.

Johnson and his lawyers argued that he had changed his life after being sent to prison 14 years ago. His attorneys said that Johnson has been an exemplary inmate and prison worker, without a single prison violation. His lawyers even recommended against a life sentence with parole. They said they were prefer a life sentence without parole for Johnson.

Johnson's mother, Demetria, admitted in court that she had given heroin and prescription drugs to Johnson as a baby, and also taught him to use illegal drugs when he was 13 years old.

Johnson's 14-year old son, Rayshawn Jr., said his father had helped him stay away from drugs and crime and wanted to continue to have his father in his life, even if it has to be behind bars in prison.

However, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, who argued the case himself, said almost every death row inmate has said that he has reformed, become religious in prison and turned his life around. Deters said that does nothing to bring back the life of Shanon Marks.

The jury had been sequestered since they started deliberations. That meant being escorted to an undisclosed local hotel and not being allowed to use local TV, radio, have access to the Internet or use their cellphones.

A second sentencing trial was held for Johnson after an Appeals Court ruled that he had received inadequate counsel during his original trial. Judges ruled that jurors should have heard about how Johnson was abused as he was growing up, before they reached a decision on sentencing Johnson to the death penalty.


























Anne

[k"KKK"hirschkorn]

This  is  good news. I grew  up  beeing  beat and  abused Im  not  on Death Row. Glad to hear  his  cop-out  o  my daddy  didnt  love  me didnt work.