UC's OIP confident appeals court will free Cleveland men convicted in drive-by shooting
The fate of two Cleveland men convicted of attempted murder who both maintain their innocence is in the hands of the Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals, and attorneys with the Ohio Innocence Project who are working on their behalf are confident that new evidence in the case could free them, reports Cleveland 19.
Kenny Phillips and Michael Sutton were arrested and charged with the 2006 attempted murder at a Cleveland gas station. Both men had just turned 18. Phillips received more than 92 years, and Sutton 46 years after police say they shot at a vehicle, leaving two people seriously injured, and also at police.
The Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) at the University of Cincinnati College of Law is working on the men’s case, along with the Wrongful Conviction Project.
Donald Caster, an attorney with the OIP, is steadfast that Sutton, now 33, and Phillips, now 32, are innocent, and says that new evidence and discovery in the case could free them both.
“Two Cleveland police officers, one current and one former, have come forward and said the original testimony from other officers doesn’t make sense from what they saw,” Caster said.
Read the full story here.
Featured image at top: UC College of Law building in spring. Dottie Stover/UC Creative + Brand
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.