Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo will rule on that motion Aug. 15.
A new trial for the three men was granted earlier this year, but the prosecutor’s office is now citing the previous two decades’ passage of time as an obstacle in any potential trial.
Prosecutors are still seeking new evidence that may provide grist for a future trial, but for now they’re asking for the court to dismiss the charges without prejudice. (The state’s primary witness from 1996 has since recanted her testimony, and additional witnesses have been difficult to track down and interview.)
Background information on the case was compiled by Eugene Johnson’s brother here.
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2016.
