By David Yonke
Toledo Blade
August 20, 2009
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090820/NEWS02/908200375/0/ART10
 |
| Robinson |
One of the jurors who, three years ago, found a Toledo Catholic priest guilty in the 1980 murder of a nun said last night that she remains haunted by the trial and prays that "if I made the wrong decision that God forgives me."
Denise West of Toledo, who along with 11 other jurors came to the unanimous verdict that Gerald Robinson murdered Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, said the decision was based on evidence presented in the Lucas County Common Pleas Court trial.
Mrs. West's emotional presentation was given at Ski's Restaurant in Sylvania in a talk sponsored by the Polish-American Council of Toledo.
In her first public appearance since the trial, Mrs. West gave a 15-minute talk and then answered questions for more than hour from a crowd of about 60. Many in attendance said in response to a question that they personally know Robinson and believe the priest is innocent.
Mrs. West said the 2 1/2-week trial was "very, very stressful" for her, partly because she is a Catholic and felt in her heart that a priest or a nun could not commit such a heinous crime.
But she said she relied solely on the evidence presented in court and not on her emotions, and by that measure, there was no doubt the priest was guilty.
Robinson, 71, was convicted May 11, 2006, and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. He is at Hocking Correctional Facility in southern Ohio. He has lost two appeals thus far, and his attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. In a separate legal effort, an amended petition for post-conviction relief is pending in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
Mrs. West wore a blue blouse with an anchor design on the chest that could be seen as symbolic of the weight she still carries over putting a priest behind bars.
"I cried myself to sleep many nights, and others on the jury did, too," she said.
The juror said her decision was based in part on a videotape of Robinson's police interrogation in which he said that someone had confessed to him about the murder, then contradicted himself afterward by saying he had made that up.
She also said Robinson lied about his whereabouts the morning of April 5, 1980 - Holy Saturday. The priest said he never left his apartment in the former Mercy Hospital, where the murder occurred, but three witnesses testified they saw him in the hallways around the time the nun was killed.
Sister Margaret Ann, 71, was brutally attacked in the sacristy of the former hospital. The 5-foot-1-inch-tall Sister of Mercy nun was grabbed from behind, choked nearly to death, covered with an altar cloth, and stabbed 31 times.
Mrs. West said that when the jury began deliberations, an initial ballot came back 11-1 guilty.
She said the person who held out said she was struggling with the responsibility of sending anyone to prison, but when pressed said Robinson probably was guilty.
After further discussion, the next ballot was 12-0 guilty.
Mrs. West said that after the trial, she has heard things not presented in court that could made her question her decision. But she said that during deliberations, the jurors took their role seriously, analyzed the evidence, and could not find any reasonable doubt that Robinson was the murderer.
Contact David Yonke at: dyonke@theblade.com or 419-724-6154.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.