YOUNGSTOWN Overturned conviction appealed by prosecutor

Warren Stanley's lawyer said he's confident they'll win again before the Ohio Supreme Court.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Charlotte Avenue man whose conviction and life prison sentence for a December 1996 murder were overturned on appeal isn't getting out of prison just yet.
The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered that the reversal be stayed while it considers an appeal by the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office.
That means Warren Stanley must remain in prison while the matter is pending.
"I'm still confident that the law appears to be on our side," said Atty. Robert J. Rohrbaugh II, who represents Stanley.
Stanley, 22, was convicted in 1999 of killing 17-year-old Janina Thompson of Robinwood Place as she walked home from a party. He was sentenced to life in prison and was not scheduled for a parole hearing until 2021.
The 7th District Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and sentence earlier this month, saying the county prosecutor's office violated an agreement it made with Stanley that he would not be prosecuted if he testified truthfully against two other defendants.
Appeals
Assistant Prosecutor Janice T. O'Halloran immediately asked the high court to stay the reversal while she prepares an appeal there.
O'Halloran also has filed a request asking the appellate court to reconsider its ruling. She will pursue both appeals simultaneously.
"One doesn't stop because of the other," she said. "We will pursue both."
O'Halloran said in court documents that Stanley lied during his testimony, which negated any agreement he may have had.
In her nine-page brief, O'Halloran listed several examples of lies Stanley allegedly told in his testimony against co-defendants Antuan Adkins and Edward Blackmon.
"The defendant's lack of truthfulness nullifies any obligation by the state to honor the alleged nonprosecution agreement," she wrote. "In fact, to do otherwise is to suborn perjury."
The nonprosecution agreement, if one existed, was made during the tenure of former prosecutor James A. Philomena, who is now in federal prison for fixing cases.
bjackson@vindy.com