by the time the case landed in my courtroom, someone had been sitting on death row for over two decades. this is very serious. because of mistakes that were made, a process was flawed. all i wanted to do was make sure that the process was fair. but just days before the trial was to begin, prosecutors disclosed they had found additional evidence in their files. despite having a federal court order, in fact there was physical evidence that had not been turned over to joe s trial counsel. not only in 1988, but in this particular proceeding itself. it was a circus. and i m sitting out there watching it in total disbelief, total disbelief. the sudden release of new evidence would delay joe s retrial even more. so joe s attorneys petitioned the court for bail. the state of ohio said, it would be unheard of for a judge
you ve got to understand, it s disappointment from the standpoint that those cases were well tried. in my considered opinion there is a very limited trial ability on many judges. they don t understand the full dynamics either of investigating a criminal case or trying a criminal trial. marino also disputed that he withheld evidence. we strictly followed the ohio law. if it was in my file, they saw it or heard it. in addition to what the law required us to give them. i gave them copies of everything they were entitled to. like marino, the state of ohio stood firm. and of course, after she gave it to me, they appealed it. so i had my retrial. but i couldn t go nowhere. the prosecutor s office began preparing for another trial. convinced they could reconvict joe and put him to death once and for all. we all enter this world with a shout,
i was going to help him with that. i was going to help him get a truck. well, he never called me that weekend. and i found out on monday that he had been killed on friday. it was the coldest day of my life. as we covered all of this ground, he shared something with me that i had heard no one else mention. he said that tony klann had told him, richard, that he had witnessed a rape in the apartment building where he lived. i understood that there was going to be a trial and tony was going to be a witness for that. after we hung up, i felt like i needed to share that information with neil. martin told me that. and i went down to the justice center. i pulled anthony klann s file. and i discovered that he indeed
seemed to be the approach. and let the truth fall where it may. in fact, in the tony klann murder case marino was cited by the ohio supreme court for prosecutorial misconduct in the trial of joe s co-defendant, mike keenan. i gave a good closing argument. and i ended by taking this big bowie knife and stabbing it in the evidence desk. that s the prosecutorial misconduct that was alleged. and my argument is you re criticizing me for stabbing this knife in the desk when that was the knife that slashed this kid s throat when they murdered him. i said you think that s the balance that should overturn the case? well, it was. because of marino s antics, mike keenan received a new trial. but once again he was convicted and received a death sentence. by 2001 joe d ambrosio had been on death row for over 12 years. his state appeals had all been
the case was over. they found me guilty of this crime. joe was sentenced to death. my trial was the shortest death penalty trial in ohio s history. 2 3/4 days. from let s start to you die. that s how fast it was. mike keenan also received the death penalty. eddie espinoza got 15 years. in march 1989, joe d ambrosio arrived on death row at lucasville prison in southern ohio. he maintained his innocence. it s a nightmare. it s got to be a nightmare. and i have to wake up. i really, really do. and you don t wake up. and it just goes on. no matter who i wrote and how