Please support this campaign. I do believe after reading all the evidence, that a terrible mistake has once again been made in Ohio and yet another innocent awaits death for a crime he did not commit.
Brett was a single man of 23 at the time of his arrest.
He shared an apartment and living expenses with his mother, who had just had hip
replacement surgery, 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, a tremendous sense of humor, and a thirst for learning.
He is a man with a ready smile, well liked by all who know him.
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.
We now have possession of police records showing that the state has exculpatory evidence that has never been made available to his defense. You will be able to view these documents by continuing to read Brett's story.
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.
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 hadfound 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.
Brett's 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. His case contains many of the components typically found in wrongful convictions,Brett was sentenced to death on May 22nd, 1998.
This is a very short period of time for a death penalty case.
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.
Please read more on this case and support the campaign for Brett.
See: http://www.enddeathpenaltyforbretthartmann.com/
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