UPDATE: DOUGLAS PRADE; DEFENCE PRESSES FOR MORE DNA TESTING; NO DECISION YET; AKRON BEACON JOURNAL REPORTS;

"IN HIS ARGUMENT FOR THE NEW TESTS, CLEVELAND ATTORNEY DAVID B. ALDEN TOLD THE HIGH COURT THAT DNA TESTING TECHNOLOGY AT THE TIME OF THE MURDER FAILED TO IDENTIFY THE KILLER BECAUSE PROFUSE BLEEDING ON THE DOCTOR'S LAB COAT OVERWHELMED ANY TRACES OF DNA EMBEDDED IN THE BITE MARK.

''THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES PUT TO REST THAT PROBLEM,'' ALDEN ARGUED. ''THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES CAN DETECT A SMALL AMOUNT OF MALE DNA IN VAST AMOUNTS OF FEMALE DNA.''

ED MEYER: BEACON JOURNAL STAFF WRITER;"

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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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"COLUMBUS: A defense lawyer in one of Akron's most notorious murder cases asked the Ohio Supreme Court this morning for new DNA tests that might prove the innocence of former police Capt. Douglas Prade in the 1997 shooting of his ex-wife," the Akron Beacon Journal reported earlier today in a story by reporter Ed Meyer, headed "Attorneys argue over more DNA testing in Prade case."

"Margo S. Prade, 41, a prominent Akron physician, was found by her medical assistant slumped behind the wheel of her van in her office parking lot on Wooster Avenue at 10:25 on the morning before Thanksgiving," the story continues.

"She had been shot six times, according to the autopsy.

The police investigation showed there was a struggle inside the van in the moments before the shooting, and that the killer left a bite mark on Margo Prade's left inner arm.

In his argument for the new tests, Cleveland attorney David B. Alden told the high court that DNA testing technology at the time of the murder failed to identify the killer because profuse bleeding on the doctor's lab coat overwhelmed any traces of DNA embedded in the bite mark.

''The new technologies put to rest that problem,'' Alden argued. ''The new technologies can detect a small amount of male DNA in vast amounts of female DNA.''

After a lengthy Summit County jury trial in September 1998, Douglas Prade was convicted of all charges in his indictment: aggravated murder, six counts of wiretapping and one count of possession of criminal tools.

He was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole for 26 years.

Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Richard S. Kasay argued on behalf of the state today and opposed the new tests.

Kasay told the seven justices that, because the 1998 tests found no DNA from Douglas Prade, or anyone else other than the victim, new tests again excluding Prade would not be sufficient evidence to reverse his conviction.

Kasay argued that the basis for Prade's conviction was the testimony from two witnesses placing him at the murder scene, plus the back side of a bank receipt on which he had written his debts, subtracting the sum from his wife's life insurance policy.

Prade's trial court in Summit County and Akron's 9th District Court of Appeals denied appeals for new DNA tests on the basis of similar reasoning.

Justice Maureen O'Connor, who was the Summit County prosecutor at the time of the murder, recused herself from Prade's appeal.

Judge Patricia A. Delaney, who sits on the 5th District Court of Appeals in Canton, was appointed by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer to take O'Connor's place.

Moyer, in questioning the attorneys during today's arguments, noted that Prade's case is an important one, because the high court is likely to receive many other wrongful conviction appeals based on similar claims.

Family members and friends on both sides of the case attended the hearing in the court's ornate chamber at the Ohio Judicial Center in downtown Columbus.

Representing Margo Prade were one of her sisters, Veronica Sadler of Akron, and her nephew, Anthony Fowler, and his wife, Tammy Fowler, also of Akron. They were accompanied by Claudia Sengos, a caseworker from Summit County Victim Assistance.

Representing the former police commander were two of his sisters, Yvonne and Patricia Prade of Akron, and two of his former colleagues from the Akron Police Department, retired Sgts. Dennis Johnson Jr. and William Ellison.

According to Ohio Supreme Court procedures for oral arguments, each side is usually given 15 minutes.

Today's arguments, however, took more than 50 minutes.

Prade's case has received national backing in what is known as an ''amicus curiae'' brief — a Latin phrase for ''friend of the court'' — from Barry Scheck's Innocence Network in New York.

As authorities on wrongful convictions, Scheck and partner Peter Neufeld are members of the New York State Commission on Forensic Science and regularly are consulted in high-profile cases by officials at the state, local and federal levels.

The Innocence Network cited four similar cases of erroneous bite-mark evidence in its lengthy argument on Prade's behalf.

Now 63, Prade remains at the Madison Correctional Institution in London, Ohio.

In a Nov. 11 interview with the Beacon Journal at the prison, Prade repeated that he did not kill his ex-wife.

''I'm not stupid. I'm not going to ask them to look for DNA [in the bite mark evidence] if my DNA is there,'' he said.

COLUMBUS: A defense lawyer in one of Akron's most notorious murder cases asked the Ohio Supreme Court this morning for new DNA tests that might prove the innocence of former police Capt. Douglas Prade in the 1997 shooting of his ex-wife.

Margo S. Prade, 41, a prominent Akron physician, was found by her medical assistant slumped behind the wheel of her van in her office parking lot on Wooster Avenue at 10:25 on the morning before Thanksgiving.

She had been shot six times, according to the autopsy.

The police investigation showed there was a struggle inside the van in the moments before the shooting, and that the killer left a bite mark on Margo Prade's left inner arm.

In his argument for the new tests, Cleveland attorney David B. Alden told the high court that DNA testing technology at the time of the murder failed to identify the killer because profuse bleeding on the doctor's lab coat overwhelmed any traces of DNA embedded in the bite mark.

''The new technologies put to rest that problem,'' Alden argued. ''The new technologies can detect a small amount of male DNA in vast amounts of female DNA.''

After a lengthy Summit County jury trial in September 1998, Douglas Prade was convicted of all charges in his indictment: aggravated murder, six counts of wiretapping and one count of possession of criminal tools.

He was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole for 26 years.

Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Richard S. Kasay argued on behalf of the state today and opposed the new tests.

Kasay told the seven justices that, because the 1998 tests found no DNA from Douglas Prade, or anyone else other than the victim, new tests again excluding Prade would not be sufficient evidence to reverse his conviction.

Kasay argued that the basis for Prade's conviction was the testimony from two witnesses placing him at the murder scene, plus the back side of a bank receipt on which he had written his debts, subtracting the sum from his wife's life insurance policy.

Prade's trial court in Summit County and Akron's 9th District Court of Appeals denied appeals for new DNA tests on the basis of similar reasoning.

Justice Maureen O'Connor, who was the Summit County prosecutor at the time of the murder, recused herself from Prade's appeal.

Judge Patricia A. Delaney, who sits on the 5th District Court of Appeals in Canton, was appointed by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer to take O'Connor's place.

Moyer, in questioning the attorneys during today's arguments, noted that Prade's case is an important one, because the high court is likely to receive many other wrongful conviction appeals based on similar claims.

Family members and friends on both sides of the case attended the hearing in the court's ornate chamber at the Ohio Judicial Center in downtown Columbus.

Representing Margo Prade were one of her sisters, Veronica Sadler of Akron, and her nephew, Anthony Fowler, and his wife, Tammy Fowler, also of Akron. They were accompanied by Claudia Sengos, a caseworker from Summit County Victim Assistance.

Representing the former police commander were two of his sisters, Yvonne and Patricia Prade of Akron, and two of his former colleagues from the Akron Police Department, retired Sgts. Dennis Johnson Jr. and William Ellison.

According to Ohio Supreme Court procedures for oral arguments, each side is usually given 15 minutes.

Today's arguments, however, took more than 50 minutes.

Prade's case has received national backing in what is known as an ''amicus curiae'' brief — a Latin phrase for ''friend of the court'' — from Barry Scheck's Innocence Network in New York.

As authorities on wrongful convictions, Scheck and partner Peter Neufeld are members of the New York State Commission on Forensic Science and regularly are consulted in high-profile cases by officials at the state, local and federal levels.

The Innocence Network cited four similar cases of erroneous bite-mark evidence in its lengthy argument on Prade's behalf.

Now 63, Prade remains at the Madison Correctional Institution in London, Ohio.

In a Nov. 11 interview with the Beacon Journal at the prison, Prade repeated that he did not kill his ex-wife.

''I'm not stupid. I'm not going to ask them to look for DNA [in the bite mark evidence] if my DNA is there,'' he said."

Wikipedia tells us that: "The Akron Beacon Journal is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winning morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio."

The story can be found at:

http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/79437322.html

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;