Jells v. Mitchell

A Cuyahoga County, Ohio three-judge panel convicted Reginald Jells for the murder of Ruby Stapleton and sentenced him to death on October 6, 1987. After exhausting direct and post-conviction remedies in the State of Ohio, Jells timely filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on October 27, 1998. The district court denied his petition on March 18, 2002. For the reasons below, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court.