Injustice in Ohio

 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) --

John Hicks is trying to reach his mother, but a recording says her phone isn't taking calls right now.

It's 6 a.m., and Hicks has been up almost an hour. He's shaved, made his bed, gotten dressed and read for a while in his cell.

At 10 minutes after 6, he says he'll pass on the prison breakfast: toast, peanut butter, cereal, pineapple juice, coffee -- with six packets of sugar.

So lawyer seeks documents from Plain Dealer
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Mike Tobin
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ohio law prohibits criminal defendants and their attorneys from seeing public records that could help them argue their case, even though the documents are ones that everyone else can obtain.

Kantele Franko, The Post Online

While he studied at Ohio University in the early 1990s, James Filiaggi was
known as a local boxing champion - "Fooge," as his friends call him.Now they have to file forms to visit him, and he has a different identification:Inmate No. 311180 on Ohio's Death Row. As a Bobcat, Filiaggi studied  business and accounting after spending four years of military duty, graduating with honors in 1992.

Kevin Keith was convicted on May 26, 1994 on three counts of Murder and three counts of attempted Murder in what the police officials describe as a drug-related slaying. Kevin was sentenced to death on each Murder charge.

Weeks prior to the Murders Kevin was arrested along with several others individuals in separate drug raids. All of theses were suspected drug dealers including Kevin Keith & were out on bond with pending drug charges against them during the time the Murders occurred. The states theory of the case was that the shootings had occurred in retaliation against the victim's brother; Rundell Chatman; informing on Kevin and several other individuals drug activities in the area.