Originally published by: Alan Johnson and the Columbus Dispatch
April 10, 2007
Before he was released from prison, Gary Lamar James had to pass a lie-detector test to prove once and for all that he didn’t commit a 1976 bank robbery and murder.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien insisted.
Now, O’Brien is arguing that the polygraph results he relied upon four years ago to dismiss murder and bank robbery charges and expunge James’ criminal conviction, should not be considered as the Columbus man seeks compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
Mary Jane Martin, an assistant prosecutor, cited the “inherent unreliability of polygraph tests” in a hearing yesterday before Common Pleas Judge David E. Cain. She said the polygraph test was related to the criminal case and should not apply in the civil case.
It was the opening salvo in what could be a contentious civil case involving allegations of evidence hidden or suppressed by prosecutors, as well as misconduct by a former Columbus police homicide detective who resigned while under investigation for misusing informants.
At issue: Should James be financially compensated for nearly three decades he spent locked up for crimes he didn’t commit?
Timothy Howard, James’ childhood friend and co-defendant in the 1976 bank robbery and murder case, was awarded $2.5 million last year, the largest settlement of its kind in Ohio history. Howard died last month of a heart attack at age 53.
Because they were tried separately, James’ wrongful-imprisonment suit is being considered separately.
A jury declared Howard “actually innocent” last year, opening the door for the state settlement.
Discussions about a settlement for James stalled when O’Brien suggested he should receive considerably less than Howard was awarded.
Judge Cain yesterday heard motions from James’ attorneys asking him to admit the polygraph results, as well as testimony about former detective Thomas Jones Sr.’s questionable investigative techniques. They also want the judge to accept affidavits from two lawmakers who said it was the legislature’s intent to cover such cases involving procedural errors under the state’s wrongful-incarceration law.
Cain will rule on the motions before the April 30 trial.
Much of the courtroom debate yesterday focused on the admissibility of the results of a lie-detector test that James took on July 15, 2003.
The test was administered in Columbus by Brian D. Reigle, chief polygraph expert for the Office of Investigative Services of the State Highway Patrol. Reigel was hand-picked by O’Brien’s office.
After James passed the test — showing he did not participate in the Dec. 21, 1976, bank robbery and murder of guard Berne Davis — O’Brien dropped all charges and James was freed.
“We don’t want anybody in prison serving time for something they didn’t do,” O’Brien said at the time.
Rick Brunner, one of James’ attorneys, said it now seems unusual that “in those very serious circumstances, the state was willing to rely on the polygrapher and his results.”
Also yesterday, former Columbus police detective Gary Phillips, now a private investigator working for James’ legal team, testified that he interviewed two other former detectives who criticized Jones’ investigative techniques.
“If this case is based on eyewitness identification and Tom Jones was involved, then you’ve got a problem,” Phillips quoted former detective Lester Maynard as saying.
Jones was the lead investigator in Howard’s and James’ cases, which had no physical evidence and relied on eyewitness testimony.
Jones could not be reached for comment yesterday. However, he previously told The Dispatch that he did not remember anything about the Howard and James cases.
Link to article: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2007/04/10/GARYJ.ART_ART_04-10-07_D3_2N6BDFA.html