The proof is in the blood

"In Ohio, the failure of inmates to request DNA tests says a lot," Case said. "We think that the fact that no one had taken us up on our offer as of the beginning of April speaks for itself. DNA is a powerful, accurate science. If someone had evidence available to prove their innocence, one would think they would be asking for testing right away."

After the implementation of the state's Capital Justice Initiative, Campbell was the first among Ohio's 204 Death Row inmates to request a DNA test to prove his innocence.

The Attorney General's office determined Campbell had adequate evidence to qualify for a test.

"The test must be likely to demonstrate actual innocence or guilt," Case said.

Testing on the shoe in 1989 concluded that the spots were human blood, according to serologist Denise Cargo of the Hamilton County Coroner's Office. But testing for blood type was inconclusive.

Police tried to get DNA testing of the blood spots in 1989. This was the first case in Hamilton County to use new DNA technology, according to Krumbein. But the tests were inconclusive: There was not enough material to get a banding pattern.

The prosecution's case relied on the assertion that the blood on Campbell's shoe belonged to the victim. Court transcripts show the shoe was presented to the jury on three different occasions during the trial -- in Assistant Prosecutor Patrick Dinkelacker's opening statement, during Cargo's testimony and in closing arguments.

During police interrogations, Campbell admitted his shoe had blood on it. He said the blood was his own. He said his girlfriend had cut his finger during a domestic dispute and blood dripped on his shoes. During Campbell's trial, his girlfriend, Estelle Roe, corroborated the story.

Another 13 years passed before the shoe would be retested. In the summer of 2002, Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigations proved the blood on Campbell's shoe came from Campbell himself.

"John Henry Turner (victim) is excluded as the source of the DNA from all stains from the white Pony gym shoes," the lab report says. "The DNA profile from the stain on the shoes is consistent with Jerome Campbell."

Campbell had been telling the truth.

If this critical piece of the prosecution's case turns out to be incorrect 13 years later, what else could be in error?

Despite the favorable results of the DNA test, the state has scheduled Campbell's execution for May 14. The Attorney General's Office now denies that the test results were important to any legal issue in Campbell's appeal.

The state's reversal is telling, according to William Gallagher, past president of the Greater Cincinnati Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

"They must have been thoroughly convinced that it was going to come back with victim's blood on it," Gallagher says. "They were looking for a DNA test that would finally, conclusively prove that all these people on Death Row are guilty and shut the rest of them up."

Kim Norris, spokesperson for Attorney General Jim Petro, essentially, if unwittingly, underscores Gallagher's argument. Approval for the test came from Former Attorney General Montgomery, now state auditor.

"It was her understanding that the test was done because Campbell was the first to request testing under the new initiative," Norris says. "It was to resolve any last minute issues."

In other words, state officials agreed to test Campbell's shoe to put aside doubts about his guilt. The last thing the state expected was evidence he was innocent.

The state's conduct is fundamentally unfair, according to Cathy McGee, Campbell's niece.

"My Uncle Jerome has always declared his innocence since day one," she says. "As soon as he was able to request and be granted DNA testing, it was done. Once the evidence came back in his favor, the state scrambled to get an execution date set so that they would not have to face the true facts in this case -- that he is innocent as he said he was."

Gov. Taft will examine Campbell's case carefully, according to his spokesman, Orest Holubec. But unlike former Illinois Gov. Ryan, who cleared out his state's Death Row, Taft still believes in the way the death penalty is administered.

"The governor also believes that because of the review and the thorough examination each case receives in our court systems, we don't have some of the problems that we have seen in different states," Holubec says. "He believes the system is effective."

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