Latest Sam Sheppard trial opens with jury selection

Son uses civil suit in bid to clear father's name

February 7, 2000
Web posted at: 2:58 p.m. EST (1958 GMT)

In this story: 'Most shameful trial in American history' Murder confession? DNA tests RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

CLEVELAND (CNN) -- Jury selection began Monday in the latest attempt by Sam Reese Sheppard to clear his late father's name. Dr. Sam Sheppard was convicted of killing his pregnant wife nearly half a century ago in a case that helped inspire the movie and TV series "The Fugitive."

In a civil trial, the son is accusing the state of Ohio of wrongfully imprisoning his father for the bludgeoning death of Marilyn Sheppard.

All of this week is set aside for the selection of eight jurors and four alternatives. The trial could take an additional two months to complete.

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Dr. Sam Sheppard, convicted of his wife's murder in 1954, spent 10 years in prison before the Supreme Court overturned the conviction, saying the trial judge didn't do enough to shield the jury from massive publicity.

"It was probably the most shameful trial in American history," says attorney Terry Gilbert, who represents Sam Reese Sheppard, 52. The dental hygienist from Oakland, California, was 7 when his mother was killed.

Dr. Sheppard, who was acquitted at a retrial in 1966, died in 1970, a broke and broken man.

Despite his father's eventual acquittal, Sam Reese Sheppard believes the state of Ohio has never accepted responsibility for imprisoning his father.

Sam Reese Sheppard has brought a civil suit against the state of Ohio for the wrongful imprisonment of his father 120K/11 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

If a jury declares Sam Sheppard innocent -- a stronger statement than the "not guilty" verdict in the 1966 retrial -- then Sam Reese Sheppard can file a wrongful imprisonment claim against the state, possibly collecting up to $2 million in damages.

"Being found not guilty is not really a vindication in the sense of proving innocence. It's really a failure of proof on the prosecutor's part," said Larry Dubin, a University of Detroit law professor who has no involvement in the case.

The Supreme Court overturned the original verdict partly because testimony had been publicized before witnesses appeared in court. Nevertheless, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Ronald Suster has ruled that the 1954 testimony is not tainted and can be entered into the new proceeding.

Because many witnesses in the case have died, the jury may have to listen for days to readings of their testimony from the previous trials.

The elder Sheppard, an osteopath, always insisted that a "bushy-haired intruder" killed his wife in her upstairs bedroom while he slept downstairs. He said he heard his wife's cries and ran to help her but was knocked unconscious by the killer, who fled from the family's home on Lake Erie.

Sam Reese Sheppard, the couple's only child, has investigated his mother's murder for more than a decade. He is convinced the real killer was a window washer named Richard Eberling, who died in prison in 1998 after being convicted of killing a woman for whom he worked as a caretaker.

Shortly before Eberling's death, he reportedly confessed to a fellow inmate that he committed the Sheppard killing.

Lawyers for Sam Reese Sheppard say they will introduce new DNA tests to support their case.

Dr. Sam Sheppard and his wife, Marilyn

In 1997, Dr. Sam Sheppard's body was exhumed at the request of his son so that DNA testing -- technology not available in the 1950s -- could be performed.

The results showed no match between Sam Sheppard's blood and blood found at the crime scene.

Prosecutors who had Marilyn Sheppard's remains exhumed to perform DNA testing of their own called the results inconclusive.

Sam Reese Sheppard says money is not the motive for his persistence. The son insists he brought the civil lawsuit to hold the criminal justice system accountable for destroying his family and to solve his mother's murder.

Correspondent Ed Garsten, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Body of Sam Sheppard's wife exhumed in Ohio
October 5, 1999
Attorney says DNA test supports Sam Sheppard's innocence
March 5, 1998

Special Project: Haunting Questions - The Sam Sheppard Case
WashingtonPost.com: Mockery of Justice

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