Matthews v. Ishee
| Decision Date | 01 February 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:01CV02049.,1:01CV02049. |
| Citation | 414 F.Supp.2d 792 |
| Parties | Rasheem MATTHEWS, Petitioner, v. Todd ISHEE, Warden, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio |
J. Dean Carro, University of Akron, School of Law, Akron, OH, for Petitioner.
M. Scott Criss, Stuart W. Harris, Office of the Attorney General, State of Ohio Corrections Litigation Section, Columbus, OH, for Respondent.
ORDER AND DECISION
[Resolving Document # 40]
The Court referred the above action to Magistrate Judge Jack B. Streepy for a Report and Recommendation on Petitioner Rasheem Matthews's Petition for Habeas Corpus. The Magistrate recommended that the Court dismiss the Petition based on his finding that Matthews's due process rights were not violated by prosecutorial misconduct. Matthews filed Objections to the Recommendation. Respondent Todd Ishee, Warden, has not responded to those Objections. Subsequently, Matthews filed two Notices of Additional Authority in support of his Objections and Petition. Upon review of the filings in this action, Recommendation and applicable law, the Court chooses to not adopt the Magistrate's Recommendation and performs an independent review of the Petition.
In April of 1990, Matthews was indicted by the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury for unlawfully and purposely causing the death of Wayne Price and for a firearm specification while committing the offense charged. The murder occurred in the early-morning hours of October 16, 1989, when Price was shot and killed at the King-Kennedy Housing Projects. Price, his common law wife, Renee Germany, and a friend. Kenneth Lee, drove to the area to purchase cocaine. When they arrived, Price parked the car near an alcove that lead to the courtyard of the complex. He and Lee got out of the vehicle and proceeded toward the alcove while Germany remained in the car. Price stopped to speak to a friend who approached. Theodore Roulette testified that he was the one who Price had spoken to. Price, Roulette and Lee all eventually arrived in the courtyard, although they did not remain together. There was approximately ten to fifteen people in the courtyard at that time either engaged in drug activity or loitering. It is at this point that the trial testimony of Lee and Roulette differ.
Lee testified that the courtyard was dark and he didn't recognize any of the people present. However, Roulette stated that it was illuminated on one side and shadowed on the other. Someone began to throw eggs from a balcony above. Roulette claims that one of the eggs struck Price. Lee did not observe this but stated that he recalled Price say, Roulette testified that Matthews and Price had words but that he did not see Price do anything aggressive or violent. Lee stated that when he saw the argument between Price and another man he did not recognize, he started walking back out of the courtyard. As Lee was exiting the alcove, he heard shots fired behind him and took off running. Lee did not learn of Price's death until a few days later.
Roulette testified that he saw Price facing Matthews, heard gunshots fired and observed Price holding the lower part of his body as he spun around. Roulette also testified that he observed Matthews with a gun in his hand. Roulette claimed that Matthews had shot Price. After the shooting, Roulette ran through the alcove and left the area. He also did not learn of Price's death until a few days later.
The county coroner testified that Price had bled to death from two gunshot wounds. One entered the right mid-lower back area, the other entered the right hip. Both bullets exited the lower right abdomen. Germany testified that she remained in the car while the above events occurred. She stated that when she heard the gunshots, she ducked down inside the car and remained there until she heard her husband's voice. When Germany looked up, she saw Price laying in the tunnel with a man standing over him. She claimed that she heard her husband say, "man, I'm already hit, you don't have to do that." Germany was not able to identify the man her husband was speaking to. After this man left and headed back toward the courtyard, Germany went to Price, and with the help of an unidentified man, got him into the car. Germany stated that Price told her somebody had shot him over something silly and to get him to the hospital. Germany then drove Price to the hospital.
In March of 1990, Roulette was incarcerated in the Cleveland City Jail for theft. Roulette claims that while there, he encountered Price's brother. After this encounter, Roulette went to the Cleveland Police Department and gave a statement that he had witnessed the encounter and named Matthews as the shooter.
During Matthews's trial, the prosecution also presented the testimony of a Charles Paxton, a jailhouse informant. Paxton testified that he was introduced to Matthews by corrections officers while in jail. Paxton stated that Matthews had confessed to him that he shot Price two times because Price had been bad mouthing him. Paxton, claimed that Matthews told him that Price was not the first man he had killed in Cleveland. Paxton also stated that Matthews told him that he had given drugs to Price on credit and he had not paid for them. Additionally, Paxton testified that Matthews told him that a woman by the name of Juanita had witnessed the shooting and he would ensure that she wouldn't testify at the trial. Claiming that he received no consideration for his testimony by the State in his own criminal case, Paxton testified that he had been told by another inmate not to testify, had been offered money not to testify, and had been threatened by both Matthews and some corrections officers once it was learned inside the jail that he was going to be a witness at the trial. Paxton claimed that he came forward because he did not think it was right to kill someone and brag about it.
Matthews presented the testimony of Evelyn Roulette to discredit her husband's statements. She testified that Roulette had not been in her apartment that evening as he claimed, was a liar, and couldn't see without his glasses. Matthews also presented the testimony of Francis Barrett, the man Paxton claimed told him not to testify. Barrett stated that his cell was next to Paxton's and he never saw or heard Paxton being threatened by Matthews or any correction officers at the jail. Matthews also offered the testimony of a Quanita Muwwakkil, who originally had also been charged with Price's murder. Muwwakkil stated that she did not know Price or Matthews nor did she witness any shooting on the evening in question.
Matthews was originally tried on the murder charge but a mistrial resulted on June 22, 1990, when the jury was unable to reach a verdict. A second trial was held and on August 3, 1990. The jury convicted Matthews on the murder charge. Three days later, the trial court sentenced Matthews to a term of fifteen (15) years to life in a state correctional institution for the charge of murder and three (3) years for the firearm specification which was to be served consecutively.
Before Matthews's trial, Roulette had been indicted on seven felony charges, unrelated to the above action, in three different criminal cases including: (1) March 12, 1990 — forgery, uttering, grand theft of a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property; (2) May 29, 1990 — theft with a violence specification; and (3) July 24, 1990 — theft with a violence specification and breaking and entering. See Respondent's Answer/Return of Writ, exhibit 28, p. 7. On August 16, 1990, ten days after Matthews was sentenced for murder, with the approval of Prosecutor Marino, Roulette pled to lesser included offenses on amended indictments in all three cases. In the March 1990 case Roulette pled guilty to attempted forgery, a first degree misdemeanor and counts 2, 3 and 4 were nolled. In the May 1990 case, Roulette pled to attempted theft, a first degree misdemeanor, and the violence specification was deleted. In the July 1990 case, Roulette pled to the lesser included offense of theft with the violence specification deleted, also a first degree misdemeanor, and count 2 was nolled. During the plea proceedings, Roulette's attorney stated:
The court is well familiar with the facts leading up to this plea bargaining today. Your honor, I would just point out that through extensive discussions with Mr. Marino in the major trial division and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office and Detective Qualey of the Cleveland Police Homicide Unit, it's my understanding that without the testimony of my client, the convicted murderer known as LAJ would not be behind bars today. It's my client's testimony that put him behind bars.
Nothing can excuse Mr. Roulette's prior criminal history or criminal behavior, but one thing remains a fact is that he has risked his own life, the life of his wife, who is in the courtroom today, and the safety of his family so that this murderer was brought to trial and convicted and is currently serving his time. We would ask the Court's consideration and also ask for an immediate sentencing taking into consideration of the foregoing factors.
See Respondent's Answer/Return of Writ, exhibit 1, p. 8. Roulette was given a suspended sentence of six months incarceration and placed on five years probation. The sentencing court had the following exchange with Roulette:
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Matthews v. Ishee
...prior to trial is presumed to be correct under § 2254(e)(1) absent a showing of clear and convincing evidence. Matthews v. Ishee, 414 F.Supp.2d 792, 807-08 (N.D.Ohio 2006) (emphasis in original; citations omitted). Thus, looking at the same opinion, the magistrate judge and the district cou......