Cleveland.com: Men imprisoned since 2006 get new trial after Cleveland police officers contradict fellow officers’ testimony
One of the men is represented by UC's Ohio Innocence Project
An appeals court granted a new trial for two men who spent the last 14 years in prison for the shooting of two people and the attempted shooting of a Cleveland police officer. One of the men, Michael Sutton, was represented by UC's Ohio Innocence Project.
Sutton and Kenny Phillips, who were 17 years old at the time of the shootings, were convicted by a jury of multiple charges, including attempted murder of a police officer. A judge sentenced Phillips to 61 years in prison, and Sutton, who was the driver, to more than 40 years in prison.
Cleveland.com reported prosecutors had no physical evidence tying Phillips or Sutton to the crime, meaning the entire case rested on the testimony of officers Daniel Lentz and Michael Keane, who said they saw the drive-by shooter fire from a car that included Phillips and Sutton.
Jurors never heard from officers John Lundy and Gregory Jones, who said in affidavits filed in recent years as part of the men’s appeals that they too were at the shooting scene and said Lentz and Keane were not where they said they were when the initial shots were fired. Lundy and Jones also said they never heard any shots fired as Lentz and Keane chased down the fleeing men.
The 8th District ruled that the state knew about Lundy’s and Jones’ conflicting testimony and failed to disclose it, therefore violating the defendants’ rights to a fair trial.
In response to the court's ruling, UC's Ohio Innocence Project issued a statement that read, in part: "Today, the Eighth District ruled that the State of Ohio’s failure to disclose the exculpatory information violated Kenny’s and Michael’s right to a fair trial. In doing so, the court recognized the disproportionate rate at which African-Americans are wrongfully convicted and the possibility that undue weight had been given to the law enforcement testimony that led to the original convictions."
Read the full Cleveland.com story here. See more coverage by Cleveland TV Station WOIO here.
Lead photo/Cleveland.com
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
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.