Kevin Keith is a 46 year old African American male who is scheduled to be executed in the state of Ohio on September 15th for 3 murders he has always claimed he did not commit.
On February 13th 1994, someone fatally shot Marichell Chatman, her 7 year old daughter, and her aunt, as well as injuring her two young cousins and her boyfriend. Keith, an occasional babysitter, was arrested on the 15th of February. Three days later, one of the two cousins who survived the shooting told the police that the gunman was her "daddy's friend, Bruce", and when shown Keith's photo, she said he was not the shooter. But less than 4 months later, Kevin Keith was sitting on death row awaiting execution for the murders.
The prosecution claimed that, whilst in hospital, one of the victim's, Richard Warren, named Kevin Keith as the shooter. A police officer testified that he first heard the name 'Kevin' from Warren's nurse, Amy Gimmets. Amy Gimmets was not called as a witness during trial. In 2007, Keith's lawyers discovered why. No one by that name had ever been employed at the hospital. The victim's attending nurse was a woman named Amy Whisman, who later signed a statement saying that, although she had called the police when Warren woke up after surgery, she had neither asked him nor been told by him who the gunman was.
Keith's attorneys argue that it was the police who suggested the name Kevin to the victim not the other way round, and that immediately after the shooting Warren told four different people that he didn't know who the gunman was. The day after the crime, however, the police called Warren and offered him the names of four 'Kevins', including Kevin Keith, and that Warren then selected 'Keith' as the surname. That phone call was not reported, and so we can't know if it really happened. But when videotaped later that evening, Warren said he did not know 'Kevin's' last name. He was shown photographs of six men including Kevin Keith, and the photo of Keith was the only one providing a facial close-up (a hint-hint, in other words). Warren chose the photo of Keith.
13 US experts in eyewitness identification note that "fault eyewitness identification is the single most likely factor to result in wrongfrul conviction". They concluded that Warren's identification of Keith was "tainted by many factors". The police used suggestive techniques. They hinted at Keith so much that, in his shocked and likely fragile condition, Warren was inclined to start questioning his own uncertainties about the gunman and choose Keith.
Furthermore, how reliable is the testimony of another eyewitness who caught a brief glimpse of the fleeing gunman, initially couldn't identify him, and then only identified him as Keith after Keith appeared on television news???
In light of all this newly discovered evidence that the state withheld evidence favorable to Keith, his lawyers are seeking a new trial and executive clemency.
There is a LOT more evidence which sheds doubt on Keith's guilt, but I'd be here all day writing it down. If you want to find out more, email me and I can send you some stuff. But I personally believe Kevin Keith is about as guilty of those murders as I am (and I was no where near Ohio in 1994, trust me). Amnesty International doesn't know if he's guilty of the crimes for which he was sentenced to death, but in any event unconditionally opposes any use of the death penalty anywhere, as I do. That's why I'm doing what I can to spare him from the lethal injection. If you have even the smallest doubt about his guilt, please help.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Send appeals
as soon as possible to:
Ohio Parole Board
770 West Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43222, USA
Fax: 1 614 752 0600
Email: drc.publicinfo@odrc.state.oh.us
In your letter, you should:
- Note the serious doubts that have been raised about Kevin Keith's guilt (so if you want to know more, please do get in touch to us at
deathwatchstardoll@hotmail.co.uk - we're always happy to provide anyone information they require)
- Explain that you do not seek to excuse the murders in this case or to downplay that suffering cause (the pro-death penalty folk are so keen to think of us as sympathisers of murderers...)
-Call on the Ohio Parole Board to recomment that Governor Ted Strickland commute this death sentence.
- And you should start with 'Dear Board members'
There is also a petition you can sign which will be presented to the Board at the hearing on August 11th.
http://criminaljustice.change.org/petitions/view/relief_urgently_needed_for_innocent_man_on_ohios_death_row
The link to the petition is also at the right hand side of the blog.
If you have even the slightest hint of doubt about Kevin Keith's guilt, please try to help. It is wrong to risk innocent lives at any time, but when there is blatant doubt about guilt it is even worse. It will only take a few minutes to send an email, write a letter, or sign the petition. An innocent life could be at stake here.
