Cleveland, Ohio Criminal Attorneys

Stephen Cothran was acquitted of rape and kidnapping charges in connection to an incident that happened in 1993.

Cothran, 56, became a suspect when his DNA linked him to evidence gathered during the incident.

However, a negative test had the jury dismissing the charges against Cothran.

Reuben Sheperd, a criminal attorney in Cleveland defending for Cothran, said that the victim had agreed to have sex with his client.

J. Kevin Kelley was handed a six-year prison sentence for his involvement in the Cuyahoga corruption case, considered as one of the biggest in the county.

Kelley was the first defendant to offer his cooperation to the FBI who was investigating the corruption issue.

He admitted to being the one who collects and pays off the bribes to county officials.

During his sentencing, Kelley issued an apology to his family as well as the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County.

Kelley has also been ordered to pay restitution of about $700,000.

Kelley's cooperation ensured the cooperation of other defendants in the case and the conviction of several people involved in the corruption.

Cleveland defense attorney John Gibbons said there is no excuse for Kelley's involvement in the corruption, however, his cooperation is the best way for him to make amends.

Cleveland councilor Zack Reed will be spending more than a week in jail for his third drunk driving conviction.

Aside from a 10-day jail term, Reed, who is seeking re-election, will be wearing a bracelet for two months which will monitor his alcohol use.

Cleveland defense lawyers Kevin Spellacy and Jeff Saffold, representing Reed, said their client is being treated for alcoholism and is addressing his addiction to alcohol, which has been going on for much of his life.

Reed's other drunk driving convictions were meted in 2005 and three years later in 2008.

Ariel Castro will be spending the rest of his life in prison and will never be getting a chance for parole after he admitted to kidnapping and abusing three women for about a decade.

Castro, who used to work as a driver for a school bus, submitted a guilty plea to more than 900 charges in connection with the decade-crime.

The Puerto Rican kidnapped Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry from the years 2002 to 2004, and held them as prisoners in his home until May this year, when they managed to flee.

He made the three women live in appalling conditions, sexually abused them several times which resulted to him fathering a boy with Berry.

Castro also assaulted them several times which also resulted to Berry miscarrying five times.

Despite his guilty plea, Castro had objected to being called a "sexual predator".

Cleveland criminal defense attorney Craig Weintraub said Castro has a mental illness but a forensic psychiatrist said otherwise.

Judge Michael Russo of the Cuyahoga County told Castro that he is not the victim but the victimizer.

Kevin Keheley can breathe a sigh of relief after a jury exonerated him of theft.

Keheley was accused of defrauding a man after entering into a contract of developing an application for a smartphone, which he was never able to produce.

The contract was for $17,000 and Keheley was paid up front with $10,000.

Keheley then relocated to Austin but promised to finish the application. This, however, never happened.

Denver criminal lawyer Laurie Schmidt, who defended for Keheley, said that what happened was a business dispute.

Schmidt added that Keheley had no intention of running away from giving back the money that he received as evidenced by emails showing his intention to pay the money back.

After 18 months in prison, Monsignor William Lynn, may be released when he was granted bail following the reversal of his conviction.

Lynn, who served as a secretary for clergy at the Philadelphia archdiocese, will have to give up his passport. He will also be made to wear an electronic device for monitoring.

The Roman Catholic official was sentenced to between three to six years after he was convicted for endangering an abuse victim of a priest.

However, appeal judges reversed Lynn's conviction because the child-endangerment law which he was accused of violating did not apply to him.

Following the reversal, Lynn's defense lawyers asked for his release which the prosecution opposed during the bail hearing claiming that the priest is a flight risk.

However, Philadelphia defense attorney Thomas Bergstrom said that Lynn would never run away from conviction.

Jeannette Silvia is looking at a life in prison after a jury found her guilty of murdering Michael Ramirez.

The body of 59-year-old Ramirez was found inside a motel room paid for by Silvia and her ex-boyfriend, Joseph Santos-Torres, who is also charged in connection with Ramirez's death.

Evidence presented in trial showed that Ramirez had paid Silvia for sex then a few days later, Ramirez was made to go to the motel where he was found dead.

Sarah Christensen and Phil Dubois, Colorado Springs defense attorneys, downplayed their client, Silvia's participation in the murder, saying that it was Santos-Torres who killed Ramirez and all she did was helped him escape as he had asked.

The jury, however, did not buy it.

Santos-Torres himself is awaiting trial.

Lashawn Sheldon was meted a sentence of about four years in prison after he was convicted of kidnapping and other domestic crimes.

Springfield defense attorney Dale E. Bass said that his client, Sheldon, committed most of the offences while he and the victim were breaking up.

Court heard that when the victim had decided to end her relationship with Sheldon, he had abducted and threatened her. He had also harassed her in her work place.

After serving his prison term, Sheldon will be put under probation for three years.

Willie C. Jones will be spending the rest of his life in jail with no chance of parole after the jury convicted him for the death of his daughter.

Before her death, four-year-old Tyasia Phillips, who incurred a head wound, had been connected to a life support after she was severely beaten and burned by the man whom she called dad.

Jones had alleged that his daughter had injured her head when she tried to escape from him.

Augusta attorney Katrell Nash, defending for Jones, appealed to the jury to consider the likelihood that the little girl had gotten the head wound while playing with other kids.

At first, Jones had denied hurting his daughter but later admitted to the crime saying that he had beaten her for her insolence.