Cleveland Serial Killer's appeal already loaded with arguments - Tri-State News, Weather & Sports

Now that the Cleveland Strangler serial killer's trial has come to an end, an automatic appeal has been filed for the death penalty case.

Anthony Sowell was convicted of murdering eleven woman in Northeast Ohio and stashing their bodies at his Imperial Avenue home.

19 Action News is already hearing of arguments that might get made during the appeal and how we "might" have to do it all over again.

Let's go back before the trial began.

The State Supreme Court kicked Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold off the case after defense lawyers questioned if she could be fair. Next, Judge Timothy McGinty took himself off the trial after defense lawyers raised questions about him releasing records.

So what else? During trial, Judge Dick Ambrose held a big part of jury selection behind closed doors, an act Anthony Sowell never agreed upon. Defense lawyers also made an issue of an interrogation that went on for hours, videotaped without Sowell's permission.

Prosecutors even asked for a mistrial.

Finally, could there be an argument of ineffective counsel? An issue with Sowell's own defense lawyers?  They didn't call any witnesses as the jury considered guilt or innocence. Now, should any of that really mean he should get another chance?

You might call it nitpicking to help out a creepy serial killer, but an appeals court won't look at what Sowell did, but how the system treated him.

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