Post by carolinem on Aug 15, 2007 1:19:20 GMT -5
Brett Hartmann, An Innocent Man on Ohio's Death Row
Brett was a single man of 23 at the time of his arrest. He shared an apartment, and living expenses with his mother, while working as a chef for a well recognized restaurant.
Brett has always been a compassionate person, never confrontational, facing life with great inner strength and a tremendous sense of humor. He is a man with a ready smile, well liked by all who know him.
In fact, after Brett's arrest, but prior to his indictment, deputy Police Chief Michael Matulavich admitted during a press conference that they did not have enough evidence to charge Brett. That was until they thought they had found new evidence that would break the case. They indicted Brett and then went to collect this evidence.
Even though this "big break" turned out to be nothing, they had already indicted Brett and released it to the media, they then went ahead with his trial.
His trial started on April 14th, 1998, and though he is innocent, even testifying on his own behalf, he was found guilty on April 30th, 1998.
Brett was sentenced to death on May 22nd, 1998. This is a very short period of time for a death penalty case.
Brett was arrested on September 10th, 1997 for the murder of Winda D. Snipes. Brett was the person who discovered Winda, and placed a series of 911 calls to report it.
We know that Brett is innocent and have the facts to show it. At trial, though Brett's alibi was established, it was ignored. We now have possession of police records showing that the state also has exculpatory evidence that has never been made available to his defense. It was only his actions after finding her, and how he reported it, that placed a shadow over his innocence, making him a convenient and instant suspect.
This jump to arrest and convict Brett is shown by the way the investigation was conducted, evidence was handled, and the press releases made by the police department.
After hours of what is called "rapid fire interrogation", Brett's statements made to the police never faltered, nor has he ever shown a consciousness of guilt, which in cases of factual innocence, this is a key factor to look at.
When Brett went to court he faced a prosecutor who was well known to be overzealous, and would try to win at all costs. She was also known to over indict, violate disclosure rules, withhold evidence, and then target defense attorney's who opposed her. Brett's Prosecutor...
The crux of the state's case relied on erroneous blood spatter evidence, and the testimony of a man who has misrepresented his credentials, manipulated data, is facing ethics charges, and is under suspicion due to evidence that had been altered while in his chain of custody, among other things. Blood Spatter...
The state's case not only contains circumstantial evidence, but also includes, testimony that shows deliberate misleading statements, perjured testimony, sloppy investigation and processing of evidence. State's Perjury...
Brett faced this with a public defense team that did little to nothing to defend him. Never asking or accepting Brett's side of events, saying that they preferred to let the evidence tell them what happened, and then relied on the State's evidence for trial.
Their strategy even included hiding from Brett and the court, the fact that they had hired and were in possession of, expert blood spatter opinions that would have aided in Brett's defense.
His defense team further harmed Brett by failing to make important points during trial.
This, along with final filing dates that his post conviction attorney's missed, has left Brett unable to show his innocence on appeal.
Once these mistakes are made, that information is lost to your case.
Brett's State appeals have been denied.
Brett did not receive an adequate defense, nor a fair and just trial.
He has been wrongly convicted, and given the death penalty.
The song "Big Things" has been dedicated to Brett by the
artist denikobi.
More information can be found on Brett's website:
www.enddeathpenaltyforbretthartmann.com/
You can also find Brett on myspace URL: www.myspace.com/brett_hartmann
Note from Caroline Mason:
Those familiar with Reese's case will see many similarities here, beginning with an arrest before any evidence, and in Reese's case even the victim's body, was found. In both cases vital evidence was ignored, witnesses lied or gave misleading evidence in court, and overzealous prosecutors and poor legal representation ensured that the two men would be sentenced to death.
I urge everyone to take a good look at both Reese and Brett's cases, which are examples of the failure that is Ohio's justice system. And to keep in mind that while these two men remain on death row convicted of these crimes, the real killers remain free.
And please visit Brett's forum to add anything you may want to in regards to Reese's case.