Tony Apanovitch is innocent. He has been on death row in Ohio for most of the past 36 years for a crime that DNA proves he did not commit, the rape and murder of Mary Ann Flynn in 1984.
His conviction was thrown out after a hearing in 2014 based on DNA evidence that the state secretly tested and hid from Tony for 8 years. Once the DNA evidence surfaced, there was a hearing before a judge at which the DNA testing was authenticated and admitted into evidence and both parties called DNA experts to testify about the test results.
In early 2015, the court ruled that the “uncontroverted” and “unequivocal” evidence, including the newly-discovered DNA evidence, indisputably proved that the semen that came from the victim’s vagina did not come from Tony. And, because the state had accused and convicted Tony of being the sole perpetrator of the crime, the DNA evidence proved not only that Tony did not rape Ms. Flynn, but also that Tony did not murder her, as he had maintained for his 36 years on death row. The court then vacated Tony’s conviction and death sentence, and released him from death row.
Why isn’t Tony a free man today?
In November 2018, after over two years of freedom living with and caring for with his wife and grandchildren, Tony was taken into custody and sent back to death row. The reason? The Court used a hyper-technical loophole regarding the way that the evidence proving Tony’s innocence was produced.
According to the Court, the DNA statute in Ohio applies only where the prisoner makes the request to test DNA. Tony didn't ask for the testing to be done and never had the opportunity to make that request - because the state did the testing itself in secret without telling Tony or his lawyers, and then hid the results even though the DNA testing proved that Tony was not the perpetrator. So, according to the Court, because Tony didn’t ask for the testing (he couldn’t have since it was hidden), the results of that test were irrelevant even though they prove him innocent.
In the State of Ohio, who asked for the testing is more important than what the testing actually reveals! So, even though the DNA testing proved that Tony is innocent of the rape, he was stolen from his family once again and is now back on death row and facing execution simply because he didn’t and couldn’t request the testing that exonerated him.
As a matter of simple fairness and American jurisprudence, including critical safeguards embedded in the Constitution and laws of the United States, no person should ever be convicted of a crime, let alone sentenced to death, without a full and fair trial and the opportunity to confront and challenge the evidence lodged against him. Tony Apanovitch never got that chance.
What can YOU do? Sign!
Now is your chance to help! The Ohio General Assembly and Ohio Senate have been asked to consider legislation that would correct the procedural technicality that prevented the courts from considering Tony’s DNA test results that proved he is innocent.
The proposed law would allow courts to consider relevant DNA evidence, regardless of who asked for the testing to be conducted, and it would ensure that the new law applies to Tony’s case retroactively. Please sign this petition to let The Ohio General Assembly representatives know that you are outraged by how Tony has been treated, and that you expect, indeed demand, that they do the right thing by passing this important legislation to close this loophole to help Tony get the full and fair trial he deserves and finally be with his family once again.
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