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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Assault (Including Battery) |
Sentence: |
90 days house arrest & 2 yrs probation |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.25 |
Year Crime: |
1996 |
Year Convicted: |
1997 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Ohio |
County or Region of Crime: |
Summit |
City of Crime: |
Akron |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Edward B. Williams was wrongly convicted on April 28, 1997 of the misdemeanors of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest in Akron, Ohio on October 2, 1996. Williams' prosecution was based on the testimony of two police officers that he attacked them when he got out of the car after a traffic stop. Edward Williams denied assaulting the officers, who he said attacked him without provocation. After his conviction by a jury Williams was sentenced to 90 days house arrest and two years probation. In 2011 the the Akron PD discovered that one of the officers, Donald Schismenos, had stored about 220 gigabytes of various video recordings and documents on a city computer. One of the videos was a dash cam video with audio of Williams arrest. The video showed the officers dragging Williams out of his car and while he was lying on the road they pepper-sprayed, punched him, and used their police batons to repeatedly hit him. Schismenos resigned from the Akron PD while he was being investigated for his violent conduct against a number of people shown in the videos. Reviews by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice resulted in no charges against Schismenos. As a result of the investigations a copy of the video of Williams’ arrest was obtained in 2014 by the Akron Beacon-Journal newspaper. After Williams saw the video proving he didn't assault the officers or resist arrest, he filed a motion for a new trial based on the prosecution's failure to disclose the video prior to his trial. Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Teodosio granted William's motion on March 27 2015 and ordered a new trial. The Summit County DA declined to retry Williams based on Schismenos compromised credibility, and filed a motion to dismiss the charges, which was granted by Judge Teodosio on March 30, 2015. On October 19, 2015 Williams and his wife Theresa Williams filed a lawsuit in Summit County Common Pleas Court against the City of Akron, former police officer Donald Schismenos and police captain Jesse Leeser. The lawsuit claims the officers used excessive force, falsely arrested him and concealed evidence that proved his innocence. seeking compensatory and punitive damages for physical injuries, mental anguish, emotional distress and damage to his reputation resulting from the traffic stop on Oct. 2, 1996. The lawsuit alleges that officers Leeser and Schismenos “tackled Williams to the ground, hit and kicked him, and used excessive force to unreasonably arrest him, including the use of a chokehold and Billie clubs.” In 2015 the Summit County District Attorney's Office filed motions that were granted dismissing 55 misdemeanor criminal cases and 42 traffic cases that resulted from arrests by Schismenos." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Police perjury fabricating non-existent assault by Williams. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Teodosio granted William's motion on March 27 2015 and ordered a new trial. The Summit County DA declined to retry Williams based on Schismenos compromised credibility, and filed a motion to dismiss the charges, which was granted by Judge Teodosio on March 30, 2015." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
26 |
Age When Released: |
26 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Akron man says withheld police video proves his innocence, By Phil Trexler (Staff writer), Akron Beacon Journal, May 5, 2014" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/akron-man-says-withheld-police-video-proves-his-innocence-1.485933 |
Information Source 2: |
"Man secretly recorded by former Akron cop files lawsuit, By Colette M. Jenkins (Staff writer), Akron Beacon Journal, October 22, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.ohio.com/news/local/man-secretly-recorded-by-former-akron-cop-files-lawsuit-1.634653 |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org