Conviction reaffirmed

As reported in the Toledo Blade, Toledo Catholic priest Gerald Robinson’s conviction reaffirmed:

The three-judge panel, in a 95-page ruling, meticulously reviewed and rejected a litany of claims made by Robinson’s attorneys, including ineffective defense counsel, a lack of DNA evidence, injecting Satanism into the trial as a possible motive for the murder, and the loss of evidence and key witnesses over the years.

You can read the 95 page ruling here directly from the Court of Appeals.

Attorneys file to overturn conviction...

This warranted an update to the site, Attorneys file to free priest charged with nun's murder. It's being suggested that evidence was withheld and that there could be another suspect for the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl. The suggested killer by the new defense team is the now deceased Rev. Jerome Swiatecki.

Some of this was speculated by trial watchers during the initial trial, especially related to this information:

One such deceased witness was Dr. Renate Fazekas, former Lucas County forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Sister Margaret Ann on April 5, 1980, and said the nun likely had been strangled by a man with "large hands."

During the trial, Father Swiatecki was described as having been about 6 feet tall and 250 pounds, while Robinson was described as 5 feet, 7 inches and 160 pounds in 1980.