A hearing in Artillis Gibson’s case was held Thursday to determine if a violation of the Brady rule occurred in his 1996 murder case.
Charlotte Caldwell | The Lima News
LIMA — A hearing was held Thursday in the Allen County Common Pleas Court to determine if a law violation was committed in a man’s 1996 murder case.
In a motion from Artillis Gibson’s attorneys calling for a new trial and/or post-conviction relief filed in December 2021, it said the Brady rule was violated when the bench trial involving the murder of Eddie Delaney occurred because prosecutors failed to call a key witness in the case to testify. The motion said the testimonies were heavily relied on in the trial because there was no physical evidence, like DNA or fingerprints.
In August 2022, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation again attempted to look for DNA on the shell casing found on the scene and no DNA profile could be obtained.
“The prosecution has a constitutional duty to disclose all material, favorable information in their possession to defendants regardless of whether it is requested. This duty is breached regardless of whether that information is withheld intentionally or unintentionally,” Cornell Law School’s webpage about the Brady rule reads.
Gibson, 61, received 15 years to life in prison for the charge plus an additional three years for a gun specification. According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s website, Gibson’s release date/parole eligibility date was Sept. 1, 2023.
The Third District Court of Appeals also reviewed the case after Gibson’s sentencing and affirmed the results.
Three people related to the case were called to testify Thursday: the witness who didn’t testify in 1996, Charles Cook; Gibson’s sister, Larcenie Mines; and the now retired Lima Police detective who handled the case, Rebecca Kinkle.
While Gibson was in jail, Kinkle’s reports from the case claimed Cook and two other fellow jail inmates confirmed Gibson threatened to kill Cook and that he admitted to killing Delaney. The other two inmates were involved in the case and testified but Cook never did. Kinkle’s report said she verified the other inmates’ stories with Cook.
When testifying Thursday, Cook said Gibson never threatened him but rather stood up for him a few times against other inmates who were bullying him. He said he didn’t know Kinkle and never spoke to her, prosecutors or defense attorneys about the case. He didn’t know his name was involved in the case until Gibson’s sister reached out to him in 2020.
Kinkle said she was never in trouble during her time as an officer besides not wearing a hat one time and received multiple awards throughout her career. She said she would never put something in her reports that didn’t happen.
Prosecutors and Gibson’s attorneys have until November to submit written closing arguments, and then Judge Terri Kohlrieser will rule on whether a Brady violation occurred.
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
