UPDATE: DOUGLAS PRADE CASE: COURT TO HEAR FORMER POLICE CAPTAIN'S PLEA FOR DNA TESTS HE CLAIMS WILL LEAD TO HIS EXONERATION;

"A JUDGE FROM THE LOCAL APPEALS COURT WILL SIT WITH THE SUPREME COURT OF OHIO ON WEDNESDAY TO HEAR ARGUMENTS IN A SUMMIT COUNTY CASE INVOLVING A FORMER POLICE OFFICER CONVICTED OF AGGRAVATED MURDER."

THE CANTON REPOSITORY;

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BACKGROUND: Douglas Prade, a former Akron police captain, was convicted of killing his ex-wife, Dr. Margo Prade, in 1997. He is seeking tests of a bite mark on her lab coat and scrapings from her fingernails which he insists will exonerate him.

Summit County prosecutors said DNA tests conducted before Prade's trial on items including the lab coat did not match Prade. However, they said other evidence of his guilt is overwhelming, including testimony from witnesses and experts who examined bite marks on the victim and said they matched Prade.

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"A judge from the local appeals court will sit with the Supreme Court of Ohio on Wednesday to hear arguments in a Summit County case involving a former police officer convicted of aggravated murder," the Canton Repository reported earlier today under the heading "Local appeals court judge to hear Prade case."

"'Judge Patricia A. Delaney of the 5th District Court of Appeals will replace Justice Maureen O’Connor, who stepped away from the case of Douglas Prade," the story continues.

"O’Connor served as the Summit County Prosecutor during Prade’s trial and conviction.

Prade, a former Akron police captain, wants to use DNA testing to overturn his conviction for the 1997 killing of his former wife, who was a doctor. He is being helped by the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati.

Prade is serving a sentence of life in prison and is not eligible for parole until he serves 26 years."

Wikipedia informs us that: "The Repository is a daily newspaper serving the greater Canton, Ohio, area. Founded March 30, 1815, by John Saxton, it started as a weekly, and began publishing seven-days-a-week in 1892. Historically, it had strong Republican connections, most notably with President William McKinley, who was married to the granddaughter of the paper's founder."

The story can be found at:

http://www.cantonrep.com/ohio/x819334582/Local-appeals-court-judge-to-hear-Prade-case

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;