Shareef Cousin
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Shareef Cousin (b. 1990) was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death at the age of 16 in 1996[1]. He became one of the youngest condemned convicts to be put on death row in the United States[2]. His conviction and death sentence was eventually overturned after it was found that evidence was mishandled and the DA decided not to pursue the case any further.
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[edit] History of the Case
In 1996, Shareef Cousin was convicted for the murder of 25-year-old Michael Gerardi in a 1995 street robbery that occurred in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Gerardi was on a date with Connie Babin on the evening of the murder. Eyewitness testimony by Babin was an important factor in the trial. Babin told the jury she was “absolutely positive” that she had seen Cousin commit the murder. Detective Anthony Small also listed two additional witnesses that supposedly "positively" identified Shareef as the murderer, but were never called to testify. It later came to light that the detective lied to get the warrant. In fact, the judge dismissed the warrant on that ground.
At trial one of Cousin's co-defendant's in an unrelated armed robbery, James Rowell, was called to testify against Cousin. The prosecutor, Roger Jordan, called that Rowell had given a statement to detectives that Cousin had bragged about the murder of Gerardi. However, when Rowell took the stand, he testified that he did not make that statement; rather he, Roger Jordan, told him to get on the stand and say that Cousin bragged to him about a murder. In return, Jordan would give him a deal on his charges.
After the trial the defense was provided a copy of Babin's transcribed statement. In the statement she indicated that she was not wearing her glasses or contacts at the time of the murder. Babin stated that she would not be able to identify the other two individuals that were with Cousin at the time of the homicide because they were too far away when she saw them. She remained adamant of her identification of Cousin.
The case was reversed by the State Supreme Court because of the use of Rowell's statement by the prosecution at trial. The Supreme Court held it was an error for the prosecution to use the statement of Rowell as substantive evidence of guilt when it was actually impeachment testimony. Also, the Court made reference to prosecutorial misconduct by Roger Jordan for withholding exculpatory evidence.
In June 2005, Roger Jordan was disciplined by the Louisiana Supreme Court for his misconduct in Cousin's case. He received a three-month suspended sentence.
Connie Babin lied in court when she identified Cousin. Her original taped statement was withheld from the defence, as was her transcribed statement. Connie Babin made several statements where she stated she could not identify the shooter.
[edit] The principal actors
- Michael Gerardi - The 25-year-old murder victim. He was on a date with Connie Babin at the time of his murder.
- Connie Babin - The 37-year-old girlfriend of Gerardi. She was over a decade older than Gerardi and was present at the time of Gerardi's murder. Her eyewitness testimony claimed to be certain that Cousin was the murderer.
- Harry Connick, Sr. - The district attorney of the City of New Orleans at the time. He is the father of jazz singer Harry Connick, Jr.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Amnesty International, Canada
- ^ Christopher John Farley and James Willwerth, "Dead Teen Walking," TIME Magazine, Monday, Jan. 19, 1998.
