PRESS RELEASE
on behalf of
SAM REESE SHEPPARD
CONTACT: Abe Bonowitz, 561-371-5204
July 1, 2004
SHEPPARD'S SON ISSUES STATEMENT
Sam Reese Sheppard, the surviving child of Dr. Samuel Holmes Sheppard and Marilyn Reese Sheppard, today issued the following statement to the news media, on his web page and to his supporters and friends. This statement is released in recognition of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the murder of Sam's mother, which began a nightmare that in some ways continues today, and which has driven Sam Reese Sheppard in a lifelong pursuit of the truth.
Sam Reese Sheppard, whose father was wrongly convicted in the murder of his mother in the famous 1954 case commonly thought to be the inspiration for the film and television programs, "The Fugitive," is still active in both the Sheppard case and in his work with efforts to abolish the death penalty.
However, at this time Sam Reese Sheppard is NOT entertaining interview requests. Please refer to the following statement. Feel free to publish it in full or in part.
Attorney Terry Gilbert, who represented the Sheppard Estate in the civil trial in 2000, is available for comment at 216-241-1430.
Thank you.
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STATEMENT FROM SAM REESE SHEPPARD
Regarding the 50th Anniversary of the Murder of Marilyn Reese Sheppard
Through difficult times my parents loved and cherished one another. I remember and honor them.
Fifty years ago, in the early morning hours of July 4, 1954, Marilyn Reese Sheppard (pregnant with her second child) and Dr. Samuel Holmes Sheppard's lives were shattered by a still uncertain assailant. My mother was murdered. My father was beaten, knocked unconscious twice and left for dead.
In an unfair trial, later called a "Mockery of Justice" by the U. S. Supreme Court, the State asked for the death penalty for Dr. Sam. I was seven years old. The jury compromised and wrongfully convicted my father of second degree murder. He spent ten years in prison until his conviction was overturned.
A second trial, this time a fair trial, found him "not guilty" but he could not find peace in a world poisoned against him. Three years ago in a third, civil trial, despite stronger evidence than ever before presented in this case, I was unable to force Cuyahoga County and the State of Ohio to right this historical wrong.
I believe that in the court of public opinion we have shown the certainty of the innocence of my father, Dr. Sam H. Sheppard. But without official state sanction it appears that this case will be a legendary American murder case that goes unsolved.
To this day the Government has failed to properly investigate this open murder case, refusing to acknowledge two suspects much more viable than my father ever was. As happens today, when the wrong person is convicted, the true murderer goes free - often to kill again.
If this can happen to my family, it can happen to anyone. My family was not poor and "on the wrong side of the tracks." Too many innocents are still in prison today. Too many victims' families are left in search of the truth. Too many families of the accused are shattered and left to pick up the pieces on their own.
I am heartened by the fact that the Sheppard murder case is studied in schools and universities all over the world. Thousands of internet users visit www.SAMREESESHEPPARD.org - joining me in my search for the truth. I hope that the memory of my loved ones and the historical lessons exhibited in this case will one day lead to reform of a judicial system that continues to operate in dishonor and disrepute.
Those who truly want Justice must continue to work for a legal system that upholds principles of fairness, and accuracy. Let us not allow another 50 years to go by without fully implementing changes to the legal system that will prevent wrongful convictions and bring about an end to the death penalty.
I remember and honor my parents, Marilyn Reese Sheppard, and Dr. Samuel Holmes Sheppard.
Sam Reese Sheppard
June, 2004
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Sent by Abe Bonowitz for Sam Reese Sheppard
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"In recording for my boy what I have been subjected
to, it will be necessary to make known American injustice perpetrated
not by the laws of our land, but by those who have sworn themselves to
uphold those laws... A frightening breach of American rights has taken
place, and the important point is that the breach has happened here in
America, not who it has happened to."
1955, Dr. Sam Sheppard From his prison journal
Please visit http://www.samreesesheppard.org
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