Clarence Elkins

Clarence Arnold Elkins Sr.

Clarence and wife Molly Elkins
Born Clarence Arnold Elkins
(1963-01-19) January 19, 1963
Known for Wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of his mother-in-law; activist against wrongful convictions
Home town Waynesburg, Ohio
Spouse(s)
  • Melinda Elkins Dawson (1981-2007)
  • Molly Elkins
Children 2

Clarence Arnold Elkins Sr. (born 1963) is an American man who was wrongfully convicted of the 1998 rape and murder of his mother-in-law, Judith Johnson, Melinda Elkins's mother, and the rape and assault of his niece, Brooke. He was convicted solely on the basis of testimony of his 6-year-old niece who testified that Elkins was the perpetrator.

Brooke later voiced doubts about her identification, claiming that in her initial statement when she said "He looked like uncle Clarence", she simply meant that he reminded her of Elkins as opposed to being a positive identification and that she only identified him in her testimony because Summit County Prosecutor Maureen O'Connor (now Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court) and lead prosecutor Michael Carroll urged her to. Brooke recanted her statement and Elkins appealed on that basis, but his appeal was denied.

The family finally raised funding to test DNA found at the scene and he was excluded. Once again, his appeal was denied. The judge ruled that because the jury convicted Elkins without the DNA results, it was likely that he would have been convicted even if the DNA did not match.

Elkins' wife, Melinda, conducted her own investigation. She eventually identified Johnson's next door neighbor, Earl Mann, a convicted sex offender, as a likely suspect. Elkins collected a cigarette butt from Mann, who was serving time at the same prison as her husband, and Mann was found to be a match. Elkins was finally exonerated after serving 6.5 years in prison.[1]

Elkins now works as an advocate to halt wrongful convictions and was instrumental in getting Ohio to pass Senate Bill 77, also known as Ohio's Innocence Protection Act.[2] This bill contains provisions requiring the police to follow best practices for eyewitness identifications, provides incentives for the videotaping of interrogations, and requires that DNA be preserved in homicide and sexual assault cases.[3][4] A 2009 documentary was made about the case titled Conviction: The True Story of Clarence Elkins.[5]

The attack

In the early morning hours of June 7, 1998, Clarence Elkins' mother-in-law, 58-year-old Judy Johnson, and his six-year-old niece, Brooke, were brutally attacked by an intruder in Johnson's home in Barberton, Ohio. Johnson had been asleep on her living room couch when she was attacked. She was raped, stabbed, and beaten so severely that her nose, jaw, collarbone and skull were all fractured in the assault. Her cause of death was determined to be strangulation.[6][7] Brooke, who was sleeping in her grandmother's bed, was awakened by the noise. She recalls: "I got out of bed and I went to the kitchen and I looked and I seen that there was a guy in the kitchen, but it scared me, so I ran back to the bedroom." She hid under the covers pretending to be asleep. The intruder entered the bedroom and struck Brooke in the face, knocking her unconscious. She was also beaten, raped, strangled, and suffered a small cut to her throat, but survived with no memory of the attack. She regained consciousness several hours later around 7 am[8] and called a neighbor, leaving a message on their answering machine:

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but my grandma died and I need somebody to get my mom for me. I'm all alone. Somebody killed my grandma. Now please, would you get ahold of me as soon as you can. Bye."[7]

Brooke then walked to a neighbor's house, the home of Earl Mann, and knocked on the door. Mann's common-law-wife, Tonia Brasiel, told her she was cooking breakfast for her children and told her to wait on the porch until she could drive her home, which she did approximately 45 minutes later.[9]

Investigation

When the police questioned Brooke, she said that the killer "looked like Uncle Clarence" – Mrs. Johnson's 35-year-old son-in-law, Clarence Elkins. The police interpreted this to mean Elkins himself was the attacker. Brasiel also reported to Brooke's mother that Brooke had identified Elkins as the attacker.[8][10] Years later, Brooke said she had grave doubts about the identification at the time but went along with it. "I just wasn't sure it was Uncle Clarence or not," Brooke said. "But I was too afraid to say anything." Elkins was arrested on the basis of this identification.[10] She later described the situation on Larry King: "I woke up and I found my grandma dead, I went to a next door neighbor's house and I told her that it looked like my uncle Clarence and it sounded like him. So, she took me home and she told my mom that -- what I told her and then everyone just started freaking out. And then my mom and dad called the police and my mom and dad told the police that it was my uncle Clarence who did it." When asked how the identification could go so wrong, she replied "Well, I told people that it looked like him and they just went like it was him. They didn't even listen to what I was saying."[11][12]

Trial

At trial, the prosecution theorized that Elkins killed his mother-in-law out of frustration because she was meddling in his rocky marriage to her daughter, Melinda.[13] The case against Elkins was largely built on the testimony of the 6-year-old eyewitness; however, investigators found no signs of forced entry, and no fingerprints or DNA linking Elkins to the scene. Hairs recovered from Johnson's body were excluded as having come from both Elkins and Johnson.[14] He insisted he was drinking with friends until about 2:40 am. Sunday morning, a timeline that Melinda corroborated. She testified that she saw Clarence return home and knew he remained there as she was up most of the night caring for a sick child. The attack took place sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. and Johnson's residence is over an hour away.[7] Elkins' alibi was also corroborated by his neighbors and friends.[12]

Based on the testimony of Brooke identifying him as her attacker, he was convicted on June 10, 1999 of murder, attempted aggravated murder, two counts of rape by force or threat of force, and felonious assault, and sentenced to two terms of life-imprisonment.[15][9] Elkins’ case was first overseen by Judge Beth Whitmore, then tried under Judge John Adams in Akron, Ohio.[16] It was the first murder trial Judge Adams had ever presided over.

Further investigation

Following the conviction, Elkins and his wife Melinda launched their own investigation and hired a private investigator who had assisted in the exonerations of numerous wrongfully convicted defendants.[7] Melinda's story of her efforts was later optioned by movie producer/screenwriter David Massar, who said a script is in development.[17]

Reconciliation

Since the night of the crime, Judy's family had been split over the case, with some members certain of his guilt and others of his innocence. Brooke had not seen Melinda or her children since the trial. Three years after the trial, the family reconciled.[7][10] Brooke confessed her uncertainty, stating, "It couldn't have been Clarence. The person that hurt me and me-maw had brown eyes. And Clarence has blue eyes."[7]

Clarence's attorney interviewed Brooke on camera where she recanted her earlier implication of Elkins. Clarence appealed his conviction with this new evidence. The judge believed the child had been coached by relatives following the reconciliation and his appeal was denied.[7]

DNA

Following the failed appeal, they decided to retest the evidence for DNA. The court ruled that she could have access to DNA recovered from the scene, but she would have to shoulder the high costs of DNA testing. Melinda raised almost $40,000 on her own before turning to the Ohio Innocence Project for assistance. They convinced a lab in Texas to test two samples for $25,000, which is half their normal price. The results excluded Clarence Elkins.[7] Clarence appealed the conviction again on the basis of the new DNA evidence. The court ruled that because a jury convicted him without DNA evidence, they would have convicted him even if it didn't match.[7] Summit County Common Court Judge Judy Hunter denied Elkins’ motion in July 2005. Following the second failed appeal, the family's further research turned up information regarding the next door neighbor, Tonia Brasiel, who had driven Brooke home the morning after the attack. It was discovered that Brasiel's common law husband, Earl Mann, was a convicted sex offender who had just been released from prison two days before the murder, on June 5, 1998.[18] It had been overlooked that Mann's wife Tonia left Brooke, a severely beaten and bloody 6-year-old in immediate need of medical care, on the porch for more than 30 minutes instead of calling 911 immediately.[7]

Melinda determined to collect Mann's DNA, but he was in prison by that time. Coincidentally, Mann was serving his time at Mansfield Correctional facility, the same facility Clarence was serving his sentence. Clarence Elkins collected a cigarette butt discarded by Mann. He sent the cigarette to his attorney who sent it to a lab for testing. It was a match.[7]

Earl Mann

Earl G. Mann[17] was born in Melbourne, Florida, before moving to Ohio. He had an extensive criminal record for crimes ranging from a racially motivated assault on another man to robberies. In 2002, Mann was convicted of raping three girls, his daughters, all under the age of 10. He had three children with Tonia Brasiel, who lived next door to Judith Johnson. Brooke frequently played with their daughters.[19]

In 2005, after Mann was identified as a suspect, Barberton police officer Gerard Antenucci brought to the attention of the prosecution the existence of a memo from 1999, four months before Elkins' trial. Antenucci arrested Mann for an unrelated robbery. In the process of his arrest, a drunk and belligerent Mann asked why he hadn't been arrested for the murder of Judy Johnson. Per policy, the arresting officer sent a memo to the detectives working the Johnson murder. This statement was never disclosed to the defense.[14][20]

After Mann was identified, Tonia admitted under questioning that Mann returned home the early morning hours after the murder with deep scratches on his back. When she questioned him, he claimed he'd been with a "wild woman." According to Brasiel, when Brooke knocked on the door following the attack, he became angry and insisted that Tonia not let her in or call police.[13]

Melinda Elkins has stated that she suspects Brasiel may have heavily influenced Brooke's identification of Clarence. Brasiel was the first person to hear this alleged identification of Elkins. Despite Mann's suspicious behavior that morning, Tonia reported to Brooke's mother that she had already named Clarence as the attacker after she drove Brooke home. Furthermore, Brasiel testified at Elkins' trial that the child told her Clarence was the perpetrator.[8]

Release

Despite the DNA evidence connecting Mann to the murder, the district attorney declined to release Elkins.[6] Elkins' attorney contacted then Ohio State Attorney General Jim Petro. Petro himself contacted prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh regarding the case on several occasions. He also reported that she was not interested in revisiting the case. He then took the unorthodox step of holding a press conference to put public pressure on the prosecutor in the case to dismiss the charges. The prosecutors conducted another round of DNA testing on hairs found at the scene and again, Mann was identified.[6][7]

On December 15, 2005, the charges against Elkins were dropped and he was released from prison. He was arrested for DUI in July 2006.[21] He filed for divorce in September 2006,[22][23] which was finalized in 2007.[24]

In 2008, ten years after the crimes were committed, in a plea agreement to avoid the death penalty, Mann pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated rape and aggravated murder for the death of Johnson as well as aggravated rape of Brooke. He was sentenced to 55 years to life in prison and will not be eligible for parole until the age of 92.[25]

Lawsuits

Clarence Elkins settled with the state of Ohio for US$1.075 million. He later filed a civil suit against the Barberton police for failing to disclose the incriminating statement by Earl Mann during his 1999 arrest. Barberton police sought to have the case dismissed, but were blocked. The judge ruled that had Mann's statement to Officer Gerard Antenucci been disclosed to the defense, they most likely would have noticed the proximity of Mann, a convicted felon, to the Johnson residence as well as the bizarre behavior of Tonia Brasiel on the morning following the murder. The DNA of Mann would have almost certainly been run and Elkins would almost certainly not have been convicted.[14][20] He later settled with the Barberton police for $5 million.[26]

Reform efforts

Melinda Elkins Dawson was instrumental in getting Ohio to pass Senate Bill 262, also known as Post Conviction DNA Law. This bill contains provisions for DNA testing post-conviction, using outcome determinitive guidelines. Melinda also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for "Ohioans to stop executions". As a public speaker and victim advocate, she continues to fight for justice and to raise awareness of wrongful convictions.

Clarence Elkins was instrumental in getting Ohio to pass Senate Bill 77, also known as Ohio's Innocence Protection Act.[2] This bill contains provisions requiring the police to follow best practices for eyewitness identifications, provides incentives for the videotaping of interrogations, and requires that DNA be preserved in homicide and sexual assault cases, among other things. Elkins spent countless hours pressing for what has been called the "national model" of innocence reform bills, and the "most important piece of criminal justice legislation in Ohio in a century."[3][4]

Clarence also engages in public speaking about his case and wrongful convictions in general at universities and other locations across the United States.[8]

Philanthropy

In 2011, Clarence and his new wife, Molly, established the Clarence Elkins Scholarship at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. This scholarship provides $5,000 annually to the Ohio Innocence Project housed at UC Law School, and includes a scholarship to two students in the Ohio Innocence Project each year.[27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Clarence Elkins". The Innocence Project. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Salzberg, Alana (December 31, 2011). "Ohio Passes Major Package of Reforms on Wrongful Convictions; Governor Is Expected to Sign Bill, Making Ohio a National Model.". The Innocence Project. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "128 SB 77". Ohio Senate. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine - Senate Bill 77". Ohioattorneygeneral.gov. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Conviction: The true story of Clarence Elkins". IMDB. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "Clarence Elkins". The national registry of exonerations. University of Michigan. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 James, Sarah (March 11, 2007). "Killer Instinct". NBC News. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Rieselman, Deborah (February 2006). "Wrongfully imprisoned man thanks UC students for freedom". UC Magazine.
  9. 1 2 "ELKINS v. SUMMIT COUNTY OHIO". United States Court of Appeals, Sixth circuit. August 10, 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 Wagner, Mike (January 29, 2008). "Family wages a long DNA battle for justice in brutal rape and murder". The Columbus Dispatch.
  11. ↑ King, Larry (August 16, 2005). "Clarence Elkins Falsely Imprisoned For Murder, Rape". CNN.
  12. 1 2 "Wrongfully Convicted Man Freed". Fox News. August 15, 2006.
  13. 1 2 Ramsland, Katherine. "Shadow of a doubt: The Clarence Elkins Story". Crime Library. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 "Clarence Elkins V. Summit County, Ohio" (PDF). United States District Court Northern District of Ohio. April 28, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Summit County Clerk of Courts Criminal Docket" (Criminal Case No. CR-1998-06-1415). June 10, 1999.
  16. ↑ "Summit County Case Details" (Criminal Case Information).
  17. 1 2 Goshay, Charita (June 14, 2012). "Anatomy of an aftermath: Movie being planned about Melinda Elkins Dawson". The Repository. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Killer Instinct". NBC News. January 2, 2009.
  19. ↑ Trexler, Phil (December 17, 2005). "Another's innocence leaves Toledo inmate to face investigation in 1998 slaying, rapes". Akron Beacon Journal.
  20. 1 2 Trexler, Phil (June 18, 2011). "Judges scold Barberton police in Elkins case". Beacon Journal.
  21. ↑ "Stark County Criminal/Traffic Docket". www.starkcountycjis.org. July 25, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Man wrongly jailed files for divorce". Cleveland.com. September 7, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Stark County Case Summary". www.starkcountycjis.org. September 1, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  24. ↑ Goshay, Charita. "Anatomy of an aftermath: Movie being planned about Melinda Elkins Dawson". The Repository. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  25. ↑ Trexler, Phil (June 17, 2011). "Earl Mann pleads guilty to 1998 slaying, rape in Barberton". Beacon Journal. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  26. ↑ Trexler, Phil (November 17, 2010). "Wrongly convicted man gets $5 million settlement from Barberton". Beacon Journal. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  27. ↑ "University of Cincinnati College of Law, "OIP Exoneree Clarence Elkins Creates Clarence Elkins Scholarship for OIP Fellows." University of Cincinnati College of Law. University of Cincinnati College of Law, n.d. Web 31 Dec 2011". Law.uc.edu. Retrieved December 30, 2012.

External links

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