the Truth about THE PROSECUTOR
Who failed to recognize faarooq’s innocence?
In April 2015, seven complaints were filed against Stephanie Gussler–one of the prosecutors in Faarooq’s case. The Board of Professional Conduct determined that Gussler violated several of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, including failure “to disclose a material fact,” engaging “in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud [or] deceit,” and engaging “in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.” In August of 2015, the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Stephanie Gussler due to her failure to answer the complaints pending before the Board of Professional Conduct. The complaint accused Gussler of failing to communicate with her clients, appear for scheduled hearings, and file documents. In November 2015, the Ohio Supreme Court found Stephanie Gussler in contempt for failure to comply with the August order to file an affidavit of compliance. In September 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court accepted Stephanie Gussler’s resignation with disciplinary action pending. In other words, Ms. Gussler resigned in order to avoid being disbarred by the State of Ohio.
the Truth about THE SUSPECTS
Who should have been questioned?
During the initial police investigation, a second suspect–Curtis McLemore–was being investigated by police. When police showed eyewitnesses photo arrays, they showed one containing Faarooq, and one containing Curtis. There was never any indication as to why McLemore was dropped as a suspect in this case.
the Truth about THE DEALS
Who SHOULD WE BELIEVE?
At least three witnesses likely received deals from the prosecution in exchange for their testimony against Faarooq. In September 2002, Charlina Paulin was charged with a first degree misdemeanor for shoplifting, but charges were dropped on February 14, 2003–merely a week before Faarooq’s trial. Paulin has since confirmed that the charges were dropped in exchange for her testimony corroborating the prosecution’s narrative about the bracelet.
Ebony Finch, who was the key witness with regards to the bracelet, was also given a deal for her cooperation. Her boyfriend at the time, Cecil Oliver, had his sentence reduced from eight to four years in exchange for her testimony.
On February 12, 2002, Shawn West committed three misdemeanor traffic offenses in Franklin County. On August 2, 2002, two of these misdemeanors were dismissed. It is suspected that West, who claimed to be 100% certain that Faarooq was the man who came out of the backroom, only reached this degree of certainty in exchange for his charges being dropped.
the Truth about his REPRESENTATION
WHO WAS FIGHTING FOR HIS INNOCENCE?
While the Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals rejected Faarooq’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland, several errors were made by the defense at trial. Most notably, defense counsel did not call an expert witness to testify about inconsistencies and unreliability with the eyewitness identification. Furthermore, his attorneys did not call to trial Dejuan Willis, Faarooq’s friend who could have provided an alibi for Faarooq on the day of the crime. Lastly, they ignored Faarooq’s suggestions for lines of questioning that would undermine the reliability of his ex-girlfriend, Satin Hammonds.