Athens County Prosecutors are contesting allegations that they used unfair tactics during a June 2009 aggravated robbery and felony murder trial of a New Marshfield man.
Friday, the prosecutor's office filed their response to claims made by Phillip Boler, 28. His allegations included that prosecutors unfairly declared the defendant guilty and used inflammatory and derogatory language.
A jury found Boler guilty of causing the death of New Marshfield man Donnie Putnam, 39, during a Feb. 14, 2009, aggravated robbery at the New Marshfield trailer of Billy Osborne, 50.
Mohat Osman, 18, and Abdifatah Abdi, 18, who accompanied Boler were also found guilty of aggravated robbery and felony murder in subsequent trials. A judge sentenced all three men to 28 years to life in jail. A fourth co-defendant, Hamda Jama, 22, pleaded guilty and will spend four years in jail.
In his appellant's brief, Boler asked for a new trial and said prosecutors had no legal right to say he was guilty during their closing arguments.
When you just give a legal conclusion
that's not the role of the prosecutor said Assistant State Public Defender Spencer Cahoon, who is representing Boler during his appeal.
Athens County Prosecutors, however, pointed out in their brief that Boler had admitted to the aggravated robbery and the evidence in the case showed that Putnam died as a result of the robbery.
In his brief, Boler also rebuked prosecutors for referring to him and his co-defendants as black.
Assistant Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said prosecutors had to provide descriptions of the defendant and co-defendants because so many of them went by nicknames or witnesses simply did not know their names.
It was descriptive of what was going on and it was not about race he said, adding that he also described the co-defendants as men and would have named their race no matter what it was.
Cahoon, who had not yet seen the prosecutors' response to Boler's brief, said calling the co-defendants black men did not add to the case.
It was really irrelevant for any other reason than to point out that they're different
he said.
Boler's brief also mentioned that the prosecution referred to Abdi and Osman as goons and thugs at least 38 times during closing arguments, terms Boler said only once during his police interrogation, .
Prosecutors used the terms to show that Boler had hired the two men to help get money from Osborne and that he knew the men might have started shooting, Blackburn said, adding that the 7-hour long closing arguments made using the words 38 times less significant.
Had the prosecutors committed misconduct, it should have been brought up at trial, Blackburn said calling the appeal a senseless attack without merit.
If there were something wrong
(Boler's lawyer) would have objected (during the trial)
Blackburn said.
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Gail Burkhardt
