CINCINNATI — A man once convicted of murder and sentenced to death is now talking about his time on death row and a second chance to prove his innocence.
Elwood Jones was sentenced to death for the 1994 murder of Rhoda Nathan, but maintains his innocence as he and his attorneys prepare for the possibility of a new trial.
In December, Judge Wende C. Cross of the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court ruled that evidence withheld from defense attorneys during his first trial in 1996 was significant and should have been presented to the jury that found Elwood Jones guilty of murder.
Jones was sentenced to death in 1997. For the last 27 years, he has insisted he had nothing to do with Nathan's murder.
"I did not kill Ms. Nathan and no matter what no one says, I did not and I still say I did not," said Jones. "I'm not a murderer."
Jones was granted bond and released from the Hamilton County Justice Center on January 14 after almost three decades in jail.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Jones spoke out publicly for the first time since he was granted a new trial.
"I really couldn't believe it and I was lost for words, and I'm still lost for words, in a sense, because all the bad rulings that have come out over the years," said Jones. "It's kind of hard to comprehend when something good happens."
Jones said he never gave up on getting someone, anyone to see that he was innocent; he described spending day after day in his jail cell, writing letters in hope someone might listen to him.
"Each day I'd get up, I would go sit in my cell, pull out my typewriter, usually write a letter to somebody," he said. "Spent about the whole 27 years writing letters, asking something just to look at this case."
You can watch the full press conference in the player below:
He conceded that he'd been a thief and suggested that could have been a reason prosecutors focused on him during their investigation into the murder.
Still, Jones said he doesn't harbor any ill will toward the people involved with his 1997 conviction.
"I have no ill will towards no one," he said. "And I have learned, even before this, for me to be bitter — I won't say I don't have bitterness but it's not directly towards them or anyone else. It's sad that I've lost a lot, too, in all these years."
Jones' attorneys, though, had plenty of their own bitterness to direct toward the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.
"The prosecutor's office, they have put out consistently a false narrative," said Jay Clark, one of Jones' attorneys.
Jones' attorneys have claimed the prosecutor's office withheld over 4,000 pages of relevant information that contained exculpatory evidence that should have been presented before the jury that convicted him.
READ MORE: The exculpatory evidence Jones' attorneys say prosecution withheld
When Cross ruled that Jones deserved a new trial, she said the police investigation was "mishandled by the Blue Ash Police Department" and agreed that evidence not turned over to Jones' defense attorneys contained information that should have been considered by a jury.
When asked if the allegations of evidence mishandling in Jones' case are unique, Clark emphatically replied it was not.
"110% no. It happens in that office literally every day," he said. "That's an entirely different discussion, but that office universally has a significant problem recognizing, understanding and doing what the constitution requires them to do."
Clark said if the evidence within the 4,000 pages withheld by prosecution had been entered, he doubts a jury would have convicted Jones.
"I believe, honestly, they intentionally and purposefully withheld it," said Clark.
The Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office issued a statement in reaction to the press conference.
"We are reviewing our next steps, procedurally, on this case," reads the statement from Melissa Powers. "However, the comments made by Mr. Jones' attorneys today were preposterous. For 27 years since Jones' conviction, every judge reviewing this case — including 19 different state and federal judges — has found these accusations of Brady violations to be baseless. The opinion of one trial court judge, operating beyond her authority, does not change that fact. I am confident in the character of the assistant prosecutors working in my office and their commitment to seek justice within the bounds of the law."
Powers was voted to fill the role of Hamilton County prosecutor in January, after Joe Deters was tapped to fill a spot on the Ohio State Supreme Court in late December 2022.
Deters said the evidence was overwhelming and the judge was wrong to grant a new trial.
"A culmination of a lot of circumstantial evidence that fits perfectly together and leaves in my mind, no doubt that Elwood did this," Deters said.
On March 9, the Ohio First District Court of Appeals denied the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office's request to appeal Cross's decision to grant Jones a new trial.
"He beat the only witness to this crime, which was Rhoda Nathan," Hamilton County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier said. “Not only beat her, but beat her to death"
The prosecutor's office also argued that Judge Cross released Jones from jail despite the Ohio Constitution stating that those charged with capital offenses, like murder, are not eligible for bail.
The prosecutor's office still has another chance to appeal, this time to the Ohio State Supreme Court.
Jones said since being out on bail he's spent more time with family and picking up old hobbies.
"I’ve been doing lots more sewing and I make quilts at home now," he said.
His message to the family of Rhoda Nathan: "I want them to know the truth. I have nothing to do with her death. I feel sorry for the family, but I’m a victim as well."
Jones' new trial is set to begin in February 2024.
