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Earl Gene Mann pleads guilty in case that sent wrong man to prison
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
It began 10 years ago with cries of injustice in the wake of a series of guilty verdicts that landed an innocent man in prison.
It ended Monday in the same Summit County courtroom with a series of guilty pleas from Earl Gene Mann and a life sentence.
For Clarence Elkins, who served nearly eight years in prison for Mann's crimes, the pleas bring his ride through the justice system full circle.
''I'm just glad I don't have to think about this anymore,'' Elkins said after the hearing. ''It is a very emotional thing. I'm just glad I can call it quits, call it over. . . . I'm ready to move on.''
Mann, 35, admitted it was he who raped and murdered Elkins' mother-in-law, Judith Johnson. He also admitted beating and raping Elkins' then 6-year-old niece, who was sleeping inside Johnson's home.
Mann said nothing in 1998 when Elkins was arrested and later convicted of the crimes.
He said nothing in court Monday to explain what happened inside Johnson's home
in Barberton when the 58-year-old was beaten, raped and strangled.
He only uttered ''guilty'' to aggravated murder, attempted murder and three counts of rape.
Common Pleas Judge Robert M. Gippin asked for a moment of silence to honor Johnson before approving a plea deal Mann sought with prosecutors.
Mann will not be eligible for parole for 55 years. That sentence won't begin ticking until next year, when Mann ends serving a seven-year sentence for raping three young girls.
He was scheduled for trial in November and could have been sentenced to death, if convicted of the murder and rape charges. Prosecutors dismissed the death-sentence provisions in exchange for a plea and a sentence almost equivalent to the term Elkins received when he was convicted.
Mann's attorneys, Walter Benson and Brian Pierce, say Mann penned a letter to them three weeks ago expressing his desire to begin negotiating a prison sentence with prosecutors.
Mann wanted to avoid putting the family through a trial, the attorneys said.
''He wanted to accept responsibility, plead guilty and give everybody some closure,'' Pierce said.
Melinda Dawson — Elkins' former wife and Johnson's adopted daughter — carried on a crusade that lasted for about eight years seeking to prove someone else killed her mother. Prosecutors laughed at her and news reporters doubted her until DNA connected Mann to the murder.
Dawson identified Mann as a suspect in 2003 after learning that he committed three child rapes in his girlfriend's home just doors away from her mother's house.
Elkins and Mann were housed in the same prison pod. In 2005, Elkins secretly grabbed one of Mann's discarded cigarette butts and sent it to his lawyer for DNA testing. The DNA matched crime-scene evidence.
Later that year, Elkins was released just before Christmas.
Monday, in a packed courtroom filled with supporters wearing yellow ribbons, Dawson dressed down Mann, at one point saying: ''I gotcha.''
''I found out what you're about and that's why we're here today,'' she told Mann, who hung his head without displaying any emotion.
Elkins, 45, got his chance to speak in court, adjusting a microphone and folding his arms in front of him as he faced Mann.
Elkins introduced himself, saying he was a victim of Mann as well and proclaiming the end of his 10-year wait for this opportunity.
He recounted his time as an innocent man behind bars and the lost opportunities he had with his sons, Clarence II and Brandon, both of whom were children when their father was sentenced to prison.
''You're not smart,'' Elkins told Mann. ''You're pathetic.''
Elkins and Dawson divorced shortly after his release from prison. Elkins was awarded $1 million for his wrongful conviction, but a large majority of the money went to his attorneys and to repay family members.
Elkins said he is currently looking for work.
Dawson said the pleas bring closure to her fight to find her mother's true killer. Ten years ago, when Elkins was convicted, she stormed out of the courtroom in tears and began her sign-waving, protest-march investigative fight.
On Monday, she said Mann's pleas were ''vindication'' for her years of work.
''I have a lot of faith,'' she said. ''I know myself. I wasn't going to give up. . . . I made that vow to my mom and I wasn't going to break that. No matter how long it took, I knew it would be someday.''
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.
It began 10 years ago with cries of injustice in the wake of a series of guilty verdicts that landed an innocent man in prison.
Get the full article here.
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