the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that ordered a new trial for death-row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio

A 3-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the March 25, 2006 ruling (see) by U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley that ordered a new trial for death-row inmate Joe D'Ambrosio because prosecutors withheld several pieces of crucial evidence that could have exonerated him. D’Ambrosio, who has spent nearly 2 decades on death row must be given a new trial or be let out of prison. D'Ambrosio says he was wrongly convicted for the 1988 murder of Tony Klann, 19. D'Ambrosio, now 47, was sentenced to death in 1989. In 2006, judge O'Malley ruled that prosecutors withheld 10 pieces of evidence that could have helped exonerate D'Ambrosio and should have been turned over to the defense under court rules. In one instance, prosecutors did not tell D'Ambrosio's lawyer that the man who accused D'Ambrosio of the murder had his own motive for killing Klann. The man, Paul Lewis, was charged in a rape case in which Klann was the only witness. Also, defense attorneys were not told that the 2 homicide detectives investigating the case believed Klann was killed elsewhere and then dumped in Doan Brook. That directly contradicted the testimony of Eddie Espinoza, the state's only eyewitness. Espinoza pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served a reduced sentence - 12 years - for his testimony. The state can ask that the ruling be reconsidered by the whole appellate court. The state can also petition the U.S. Supreme Court. Neither body is obligated to hear the case. D'Ambrosio is likely to remain jailed during the appeals process.