Wednesday's Legislative Events
Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The following meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, April 27, at the Legislative Office Building and state Capitol. Plans are tentative, and a call should be made to Legislative Management at (860) 240-0100 to confirm.

2 p.m. - Rep. Michael Lawlor news conference, LOB Room 1A.

Media Advisory
Innocent man jailed for child abuse: Mother seeks release.
Judge accused of misconduct.

WHAT:  
Mother of abused infant pleads for release of her boyfriend, presenting evidence he was not the one to abuse the baby

WHO:
Atty. Richard Cohen, representing jailed victim
Andy Thibault, private investigator, columnist, author
Jim Brewer, J. D., private investigator
Bernard Soldate, private investigator
John and Jocelyn Gebhardt, parents of jailed victim
Teresa Allen, mother of abused child

WHERE:
Legislative Office Building, Room 1A
Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Conn.

WHEN:
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
2:00 p.m. (a 30-minute presentation is anticipated)

WHY:
 Jailed man, Jason Gebhardt, is innocent, private investigation shows; dramatic errors by previous attorneys and the court led to long term sentence for "shaken baby;" case highlights nationwide problem - accusation of "shaken baby" led to superficial investigation; family to announce formation of legal defense fund and plea for support to help free an innocent man and identify real perpetrator.

MORE INFORMATION: 
Michael J. London
Office: 203-261-1549
Cell: 203-556-5123

WCBS  Radio 880 AM, New York, NY
Wed., April 27, 2005

TRAILER
A New Fairfield man who spent the last three years in prison for child abuse may be innocent.

WCBS Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau has his story:

An exhaustive private investigation into the crime concludes that Jason Gebhardt was not the man who caused harm to the infant son of his girlfriend.

Investigator Andy Thibault says law enforcement authorities failed to fully investigate other suspects in the case, including a family member with a history of violence. Thibault says sloppy police work - coupled with what he called the sham of a trial - cascaded into the wrongful conviction of Gebhardt.

"He's a good person. He's having the life sucked out of him."

Thibault said the findings have been turned over to law enforcement and a motion will be filed for a new trial.

Fran Schneidau, WCBS 880 News.

ANCHOR: Gebhardt is serving a 12-year sentence.

Justice For.Jason Gebhardt
Press.Conference.4.27.05
Legislative Office Building, Room 1A, Hartford, CT

Transcript excerpts-

ANDY THIBAULT:
Thank you for coming. My name is Andy Thibault. I'm one of the investigators on this case.

In this case, we have seen the face of an innocent man who has no hope. We're here today to give Jason Gebhardt hope and get him out of jail.

To that end, we have established a Justice For Jason Gebhardt fund. I'll tell you about that in a little while.

Our team is led by Atty. Richard Cohen, who will be filing a motion for a new trial. My fellow investigators who labored to bring us here today are Jim Brewer and Bernie Soldate. John and Jocelyn Gebhardt, parents of Jason are here, along with Teresa Allen, Brenden's mother.

We're here out of the grace and good service of State Rep. Mike Lawlor, who is a unique person, a humble and good public servant. We're very grateful for Mike setting up the room for us. Thank you very much, Mike, you're on.

JUDICIARY CO-CHAIR MIKE LAWLOR, D, EAST HAVEN:
Thanks, Andy. I just want to say a couple things, first of all.  A couple weeks ago the Judiciary Committee had a public hearing dealing with a variety of things. But, one of the things was the phenomenon of false confessions. There has been a proposal around here for a number of years that would require electronic recording of confessions to protect against this phenomenon of false confessions. A number of states and jurisdictions do it. What we're certainly seeing here in Connecticut with the Reilly case a few others where, at least it seems that when all is said and done a person confessed to a crime who turned out to be actually innocent.

With that in mind, a couple years ago the Legislature talked about establishing sort of a formalized organization to deal with these suggestions that convicted persons might actually be innocent.  Now, I think everyone involved in the criminal justice system knows everyone is innocent. It's a common claim.

But, once in a while, these claims tend to ring true. When I was a prosecutor, many years ago, people walked in with a story that sounded plausible. When I read the report in this case, there was a certain plausibility to it. It calls into question, number one, whether or not there was a false confession, number two, whether or not the investigative techniques could be characterized as tunnel vision, which happens from time to time. People focus in on a suspect to the exclusion of other ranking suspects and the end result is predictable.

And, so, if that's the case here, if the allegations in this report are in fact true, there may be reason to re-open this case and have a new trial. And I think in just the same way as the court arrests and prosecutes and convicts guilty persons, it's also our obligation, when there is a possibility that someone in custody is actually innocent, our state government needs to take it seriously and do their due diligence. My hope is that our state's prosecutors and others will take a look at this information and determine whether they feel a new trial is appropriate - or, at least a reconsideration, a formal reconsideration of the evidence. That's the bottom line here. When this happens, I think we have a responsibility to do it. And if for no other reason, if it's possible there is an innocent person in prison, it can only mean there is a guilty person not in prison. It's certainly in our interests to ensure that people who commit serious crimes are arrested and prosecuted.

With that in mind, I was happy to host this event today. I know the good work that Andy and others have done in the past. This is certainly an impressive document, but I think there is a lot more that needs to be done. And if these allegations are true, then I hope our state government does what it should do and that is allow another opportunity to determine whether or not Mr. Gebhardt is in fact guilty.

ANDY THIBAULT:
With us now is Atty. Richard Cohen, who will be filing a motion for a new trial.

ATTY. RICHARD COHEN:
Good afternoon everybody, I'm Richard Cohen and I am a solo practitioner in Hartford. By way of information. I practice in the city of Hartford, primarily criminal defense. I am here just to give you a very quick overview of just what we put into the legal arena. Specifically, two motions are going to need to be filed.

The first one is a motion for a new trial. A motion for a new trial means simply this: We are asking that the court take into consideration new evidence that was previously undiscoverable or was not able to be brought to light in the original trial, and when it's brought to light, it may cast doubt on the guilt of Jason Gebhardt or even exonerate Jason Gebhardt … and shine the light on another suspect.  This is a civil procedure, even though this is a criminal case.

The second motion that we're contemplating is a habeas corpus, that is, we assert that there was ineffective assistance of counsel by Jason Gebhardt's criminal defense attorney at trial. That is, that he did not do due diligence, he did not investigate properly, he did not call the right witnesses, he did not press, he did not object to legal questions and arguments, etc. The transcript obviously can give us a full flavor of what this defense attorney did and what this defense attorney failed to do.

These are very, very important motions. They are both difficult. They are both civil motions. The habeas is as well.

Again, I want to emphasize, I can't emphasize too strongly, that there is absolutely very little worse in this world than an innocent man who is sitting in prison for something that he did not do.

And I agree with Mike Lawlor 100 percent, I think that police do have tunnel vision. I think that what happens is they fix on a suspect, I've seen it over and over again in my practice, and I've been practicing a long time. They decide that one person is guilty, they fixate on that person. And anybody else, outside of their narrow tunnel range of vision, is totally excluded. They don't even inquire, they don't ask, they don't pursue.

They decided very early in the game that it was Jason Gebhardt who was the young man who assaulted that young child. And they went after him. And, frankly, I think that the methods they used were coercive. There was a motion to suppress the confession. Generally, they are denied. In this case it was denied. That doesn't mean that it should have been denied. It should been thrown out. It was a coercive confession. They badgered, intimidated and humiliated Jason Gebhardt, who was a young, unsophisticated kid  -- until they had what they wanted.

What we are trying to do is just right this wrong. We're doing everything in our power to do it. We've assembled a fantastic team. Everybody on this list has very impressive credentials. They're working very, very hard. And we really want to get this kid out of jail ... That's pretty much all I have to say.

BERNIE SOLDATE:
My name is Bernie Soldate, I'm a licensed private detective operating out of Simsbury, Ct., for the past 35 years. I was contacted by Jason Gebhardt's parents regarding their son who was in prison … We're working pro bono on this case now because we believe in it ... Everything we've done to this point leads me to honestly believe that Jason Gebhardt had nothing to do with the injuries to Brenden.

JIM BREWER:
I'd like to highlight a few points from the report that Andy and I drafted, with help at the time from Rich Murzin.

There is no way the injury that the state says occurred to Brenden Allen occurred the way the state says it occurred. It's bull. It's physically impossible and practically impossible. In other words, the time of the injury and the onset of symptoms are not conceivable. In addition, there was a previous injury that the doctors confirmed that occurred approximately a month earlier.

There was an admission to police officers by Monica Allen, the grandmother / caretaker of the baby, along with Teresa, that, "It wasn't shaken baby." She tells two police officers unprovoked who come to her house. That was never truly investigated, nor did the court allow that to be really explored or put forth to the jury.

Confessions are documented. Confessions are written by the person that makes the confession. Confessions are recorded. In most jurisdictions that are acting ethically, they have no problem recording a confession. This confession was not recorded. This confession was written by two state police officers. It was not even a confession, when you truly look at it. It was statements responsive to leading questions that were then transformed into, quote, admissions. Such as, do you get stressed out when your baby cries a lot? And the answer would be, yes. Well, that fit the scenario. Do you ever get angry when the baby is fussy? Yes.

That's not a confession. So, it's very disturbing to see how that was done by our law enforcement officials.

A confession starts with, `I did it.' A good confession has facts that corroborate it.

ANDY THIBAULT:
As you all know, justice costs money. There is no equal justice. You have to pay for good legal services. Every little bit will help. It will help bring about justice. The Justice for Jason Gebhardt Trust is care of Atty. Richard Cohen, 2 Congress St., Hartford, CT 06114

[All donations will go toward the motion for a new trial and the habeas. This account was opened by modest donations from the investigative team.]
                                                                                                         


Family vows to pursue freedom for inmate son
By Karen Ali
THE NEWS-TIMES
Danbury, CT, April 28, 2005

HARTFORD — The family of a New Fairfield man serving 12 years for injuring his girlfriend's baby said it would do whatever it takes to set him free. "We want justice for Jason," Jocelyn Gebhardt, the defendant's mother, said at a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Wednesday. John Gebhardt said he knows his son didn't hurt the baby. "Right from the beginning, I said the truth will prevail," he said. Jason Gebhardt was convicted by a jury in 2003 of harming the 6-month-old baby in New Fairfield on Feb. 21, 2002. He is serving a 12-year term. The child, who is now living with foster parents, suffered an injury to the lining of the skull and police believed there was enough evidence to charge Gebhardt. The child's biological mother, Teresa Allen, accepted a plea offer and was ordered to serve an 18-month jail term for risk-of-injury.

Teresa's son, Brenden Allen, in  2004 photo

On Wednesday, Allen, Gebhardt's parents, and his legal team were at the press conference to draw attention to the case.  John and Jocelyn Gebhardt said they are financially tapped out. But they will keep pursuing any avenues that could get their son out of prison. Gebhardt appealed his conviction, but in 2004 the Appellate Court ruled against him. His family did not want to give up, so they hired Richard Cohen, a Hartford lawyer.

Cohen said he plans to file a motion for a new trial with new evidence and a habeas corpus petition, which will claim his trial lawyer didn't do a good job representing him.  Gebhardt's legal team believes a member of Allen's family could be responsible for the abuse.  

Private investigator Jim Brewer said Wednesday that Edward Allen, Teresa's brother, made inconsistent statements when he interviewed him.  Edward Allen's father, Michael Allen, said the allegations against his family are false and he would file a lawsuit against Gebhardt's legal teamfor making those claims.

Bernie Soldate, another private investigator involved in the case, said he and Brewer are doing some of the work pro bono because they feel so strongly about the case. "It's not all about dollars and cents," Soldate said.

The legal team also claims police had "tunnel vision" when they did the investigation and that they could have done a more comprehensive investigation.  They also claim Gebhardt's statements to police didn't amount to a confession."A confession starts with 'I did it,' " Brewer said.

By holding a press conference, Gebhardt's family also wanted to get the word out at they need money to fight for their son.  "As we all know, justice costs money. There is no equal justice," said Andy Thibault, one of the investigators on Gebhardt's team.

State Rep. Michael Lawlor, co-chair of the state legislature's Judiciary Committee, also was on hand. He has a "general interest in cases where people get to prison and are claiming innocence."  "There's the possibility of a false confession," Lawlor said. "It's worth checking into." Allen said she isn't blaming her brother, but said there are other possible suspects besides Gebhardt. She talks to Gebhardt on the phone but is not allowed to visit him.  Jocelyn and John Gebhardt visited their son Tuesday at Cheshire Correctional Institution and said he is having a hard time.  Jocelyn Gebhardt said "he's very depressed" and has "lost a lot of weight."  Her husband added he doesn't sleep and doesn't eat. Prosecutor Dave Shannon, who prosecuted the case, said Wednesday he could not comment. Contact Karen Ali at kali@newstimes.com or at (203) 731-3341

Teresa Allen sits with boyfriend Jason Gebhardt of New Fairfield  in 2003.

2005-04-27
Evidence could clear boyfriend ...
By Karen Ali
THE NEWS-TIMES

A New Fairfield man who was sent to prison for 12 years in 2003 for shaking and injuring his girlfriend's baby claims to have new evidence that could set him free. Today, Jason Gebhardt's lawyer and family will hold a press conference in Hartford to detail new evidence, which includes claims a relative of Teresa Allen, the biological mother, was responsible for the abuse.

"We have something now that we didn't have before that is totally exculpatory," said Gebhardt's Hartford lawyer, Richard Cohen, who plans to file a motion for a new trial.

According to a report prepared by private investigators hired by Gebhardt's family, "members of the Allen family not only likely abused the baby, but probably covered up that abuse as well."

  The report also states for many hours before the 6-month-old baby's hospitalization, the only people with access to the baby were Monica Allen, Michael Allen and Edward Allen. Monica and Michael are the baby's biological grandparents and Edward is the baby's uncle.

The report also states Teresa Allen said her brother, Edward, would get angry easily over minor events and he had a history of being abusive to animals.

Michael Allen, Teresa's father, who still lives in New Fairfield, said Tuesday the allegations are simply untrue. "It's ridiculous," Michael Allen said. "What can I say about it, it's not true, it's shooting at straws. They're trying to make a case where it doesn't exist.

"They're trying to pin this on Edward," Michael Allen said. "They're wasting their money. They're wasting their time. In return, they're going to get a lawsuit for it."

Michael Allen said he, his wife and grandson are the victims. "We lost our grandson," he said.

Though Gebhardt, 28, was not the baby boy's biological father, he often took care of him while Allen was working.

Gebhardt was convicted in Danbury Superior Court in March 2003 of first-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Allen, who already served her prison time, accepted a plea offer and was ordered to serve an 18-month jail term on a risk-of-injury charge.

The baby, diagnosed as suffering from injuries caused by "shaken baby syndrome," was sent to live in a foster home, and Allen's parental rights were terminated. At the time, the baby was cared for by Teresa Allen and her mother in New Fairfield.

The baby became ill on Feb. 21, 2002. On that day, Allen and the baby visited Gebhardt's New Fairfield home. Before the couple left the home, Gebhardt went to Allen's car, pulled the crying baby out of his car  seat and changed his diaper.

The state alleged Gebhardt threw the baby back into the car  seat and shook the seat in an attempt to quiet him. Then, they all left in the car. Allen stopped the car when they heard the baby gurgling and saw he was having trouble breathing.

Prosecutors could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Contact Karen Ali at kali@newstimes.com or at (203) 731-3341.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-shaken0427.artapr27,0,2470899.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

Convicted Man Goes Public
By DIANE STRUZZI
Courant Staff Writer
April 27 2005

Supporters of a New Fairfield man convicted of shaking and injuring his girlfriend's child in 2002 are taking an unconventional step by bringing his claim of innocence directly to the public at a press conference today at the Legislative Office Building.

They hope to win financial support for his cause and publicize the errors they allege occurred in the case.

Jason Gebhardt, 28, was convicted of first-degree assault and risk of injury, and is serving a 12-year prison sentence, according to judicial officials. Gebhardt was not successful in an appeal to the state Appellate Court.

The lawyer representing him now, Richard E. Cohen of Hartford, said some attention needs to be paid to Gebhardt's case.

"What we're going on is that somebody else was involved in injuring the child and Jason took the fall for it basically," Cohen said this week. "We feel that an injustice has been done, that mitigating and exculpatory evidence need to be brought forward and there needs to be a new trial."

Cohen has not filed any papers in court, but said there are two possible legal avenues. One is a habeas corpus petition alleging Gebhardt's trial lawyer was ineffective; and another is requesting a new trial.

A 16-page preliminary report was written by Andy Thibault and Jim Brewer, who say they are private investigators looking into the case.

Among other issues, the report contends police focused solely on Gebhardt as a suspect when there were others to be investigated; there was inconsistent testimony about the child's injuries; and Gebhardt's confession was coerced. The report also contends the questioning of potential jurors during Gebhardt's trial was never recorded.

But a spokeswoman for the judicial branch said audiotapes of the jury selection process are available.

"Our information from the court reporter in Danbury is that there are two full tapes, and a portion of a third, from jury selection in the case of state of Connecticut vs. Jason Gebhardt," said judicial branch spokeswoman Rhonda Stearley-Hebert. "In addition, Judge Gary White was present in court throughout the ... process," Stearley-Hebert said.

Thibault said Brewer was told the tapes do not exist.

State police referred all questions to the prosecuting attorney in Superior Court in Danbury. After reading a copy of the report, David Shannon, the assistant state's attorney who prosecuted the case, said the evidence against Gebhardt was overwhelming.

"He made admissions," Shannon said. "The jury credited the expert testimony from Yale-New Haven Hospital. The jury deliberated less than three hours. He received a fair trial."

State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, who co-chairs the legislature's judiciary committee, said he agreed to secure a room for Gebhardt's supporters, but is not endorsing their position.

"If everything in that report is 100 percent true, it certainly raises a number of questions," Lawlor said. "I have no reason to know whether or not it's true. In general, the phenomenon of false confessions is a real one. ... I agreed to host the press conference so I could listen to what they have to say. I'm supporting their right to bring it to the people's attention."

Gebhardt's parents, who are scheduled to be at the press conference, want to pursue their son's innocence claim, said Michael London of the public relations firm Michael J. London & Associates, which is helping to publicize the case.

London said Gebhardt's girlfriend, Teresa Allen, 23, of New Fairfield, the child's mother, supports Gebhardt.

Allen was convicted of risk of injury in connection with the 2002 incident and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to judicial and court officials.

Brewer said Allen does not have custody of the child, a boy, who is in foster care. He was 6 months old at the time of the injuries, according to the Appellate Court opinion.

Copyright 2005, Hartford Courant

GEBHARDT.CASE.TRANSCRIPT
WTIC.1080 AM 5.5.05

http://www.wtic.com/talkshows/raydiane/

Mornings with Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith
Infinity Broadcasting
WTIC 1080 AM, Hartford, CTHotlinks | Previous Guests

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Plus, conversation about the day's hot topics with Ray and Diane!

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Thursday 5/5

Alex Johnston
Executive Director of the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN)
Re: Charter Middle School Performance on CMT

Robert Fiorito
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Re: Real Estate Conveyance Tax

Andy Thibault
Columnist for Law Tribune Newspapers, Adjunct Professor of Journalism at the University of Hartford, Consulting Editor for Connecticut Review, Managing Partner for Murzin-Thibault Investigative Group LLC
Re: State of Connecticut vs. Jason Gebhardt Trial

Pam Sawyer
State Representative and Minority Whip
Re: Minimum Wage

WTIC NEWS TALK 1080 news time, 9:11
RAY DUNAWAY, RD
DIANE SMITH, DS
ANDY THIBAULT, AT

RD - This is one of those stories that comes along once in a while. Andy Thibault is a good friend of ours and he's doing a lot of work on this particular case.

DS - Yeah, Andy of course is a long-time investigative journalist and is now an investigator. Of course, Andy, we hear all the time, Good morning, by the way, we hear all the time that just about everyone in prison, if you ask them,  will tell you that they are innocent. But this is a guy that you really believe is in prison falsely.

AT --  Yes. I have seen the face of an innocent man who has no hope, and I'm working with others to give him hope and get him out of jail.

DS - Andy, give us the short version, a brief summary, of what the case was against Jason Gebhardt. And then I'm going to ask you about what your investigation unearthed. So, tell us what the case was that they brought against him and convicted him of?

AT - Sure. Quite sincerely, Diane and Ray, there is no case against him, no physical evidence, no evidence whatsoever that he ever injured the child. This boils down to a case of competent lawyering and money.

DS - And it's a case of a man and a baby. Was this his child?

AT - It was his girlfriend's child.

DS - Was he the father?

AT - No, he's not. He was getting a ride to work, he changed the baby's diaper and later the baby became ill and they took him to the hospital. Medical personnel suspected there was something wrong with the baby, which there was. The baby had prior injuries that were noticed by other doctors. And there were lies compounded upon lies. Everything that could go wrong in a police investigation or a trial went wrong in this case.

DS - Andy, did the baby end up dying?

AT - No, the baby is fine. In fact, the Danbury paper ran a picture of him last week smiling by a swimming pool.

DS - Now, the doctor or the medical personnel thought that the baby had been shaken -- shaken baby syndrome, which can be really serious and life threatening, right?

AT - Absolutely. But, they had contradictory diagnoses and findings. There were findings of hematomas, injuries from shaking, all kinds of contradictory evidence.

DS - Now, what did Jason Gebhardt, what was he convicted of and what's he in jail for?

AT  -- First degree assault. He's in Cheshire. I've seen him a few times. And his sentence boils down to 12 years. As I said, there is absolutely no evidence that he ever harmed the baby. In fact, he was a loving caregiver in the time he did see the baby.

DS - Well, then how did he end up in jail? How did it get pinned on him?

AT  -- First of all, his defense lawyer rolled over like a sick dog in doing nothing, presenting no medical evidence, failing to investigate other suspects, letting the judge walk all over him like a doormat and doing nothing to save the kid.

DS - Sounds like incompetence or worse.

AT - Definitely worse. There were many irregularities, juror misconduct, judicial misconduct and, I'm sad to say, police misconduct. I do respect the state police, but they did get tunnel vision. They lied to other witnesses to try to finger Jason.

DS - Do you suppose this happened out of malice? I know you're a big supporter of theirs, I know you wrote the history of the state police. Do you think that happened out of tunnel vision or the fact that, we've seen this happen in other investigations, not necessarily in our own state, where they determine that someone is guilty and then they build a case around proving their guilt as opposed to trying to figure out who in the entire world of suspects could be guilty?

AT - Sure, they saw a baby injured, they figured some bad person had to do it. They had Jason in hand. Jason is a nice guy, but he was beaten down. He admitted to things such as, "Oh, I get upset when the baby cries and it's frustrating." They called that a confession. At the same time, state police told medical personnel that Jason had confessed. The told the mother, Teresa, that if she didn't finger Jason she'd see her baby in a cooler-size casket.

RD - Oh, man.

DS - Oh.

RD-But, Andy, from what I've read of the article, it seems to me as if you think there may be somebody else who may be culpable in this matter.

AT - Right. It's a difficult situation. Teresa comes from a violent household.

DS - She's the mother of the baby.

AT - She told my colleagues that her brother has a history of abusing animals.

RD-He was interviewed [by state police], like what, 20 minutes or something like that?

AT - Right. We interviewed him. He agreed to take a lie detector test, but then his father got involved. From various witnesses, we have strong indications it's a violent household and the injuries to the baby did not occur when Jason Gebhardt put the kid in a car seat and took him out. They occurred most likely at the residence. And Jason Gebhardt was never in that residence.

DS - He never was in the residence the baby was in.

AT -That's correct.

DS - Who was it that felt strongly enough about the fact that he had been, if I can use the term railroaded, that they were willing to find you as an investigator to look into this?

AT - There's a nice guy from Simsbury, Bernie Soldate, who's been an investigator for 35 years. He was drowning in a 3-foot high stack of paper and beating his brains out. He talked to jurors. He reached out to me, and my colleague Jim Brewer dove into the pile of documents and we sorted it out.

DS - Andy, what would have to happen now in order for there to be Justice for Jason, if indeed as you say he is innocent and he's sitting in jail in Cheshire.

AT - Atty. Richard Cohen, Congress Street in Hartford, will be filing a motion for a new trial. And the investigators have made some modest donations to start a Jason for Jason Gebhardt fund, which is care of Atty. Richard Cohen, 2 Congress St., Hartford, 06114. I've pledged to help raise a few thousand myself; it will cost at least $10,000 for this motion. The parents of Jason have been soaked by lawyers. They're not symphony-goers, they don't have a lot of money. They don't have any political juice. They're in a tough spot.

DS - If the motion is successful, that would mean what? That would mean a new trial for Jason?

AT - Right. And if anybody reviews the case, they would just turn him loose.

DS -- And then there would have to be a new investigation to find out who did hurt the baby, although fortunately the baby seems to be doing ok now.

AT - Right. The baby definitely had injuries. There was a significant statement by Mike Lawlor I just wanted to mention, you know, the co-chair of Judiciary. He said he hopes that "prosecutors and others will take a look at this information and determine whether they feel a new trial is appropriate - or, at least a reconsideration, a formal reconsideration of the evidence." I think that's a powerful statement.

RD - So this is in the matter of State of Connecticut V. Jason Gebhardt. If you want to make a donation, once again, it's 2 Congress St., what's Attorney Cohen's first name, Richard?
AT - Yes.

RD - And that's Hartford. Do you have a zip on that, Andy

AT - 06114.

RD - Please let us know what goes on here. Keep us updated. We'll probably check back with you in a couple of days and see how things are going. Is that all right?

AT - Thank you so much.

RD - All right, Andy Thibault ladies and gentlemen. It's 9:20 on WTIC.

"Connecticut Newsmakers" is a weekly program that highlights state issues and government leaders.

Sunday, May 15, 2005.

``Connecticut Newsmakers,'' WVIT NBC30, West Hatford, Ct. 6:30 a.m. Host: Tom Monahan. Topic: Justice for Jason Gebhardt. Guest: Andy Thibault, private investigator.

Justice for Jason Gebhardt Trust
C/O Atty. Richard Cohen
2 Congress St.
Hartford, CT 06114

[Report referenced: March 11, 2005.
To Atty. Richard Cohen:

FINDING OF FACT
State of Connecticut v. Jason Gebhardt

INNOCENT MAN
JAILED WITHOUT CAUSE
AFTER SHAM TRIAL

By Jim Brewer and Andy Thibault]

TRANSCRIPT
"Connecticut Newsmakers,"' 5-15-05
Tom Monahan, TM.
Andy Thibault, AT.

TM - Welcome to our program. In this segment, Andy Thibault. Andy is a private investigator. He is also a columnist for Law Tribune Newspapers, adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Hartford and consulting editor for Connecticut Review. We want to talk a little bit about a case that has been going on for some time now. Andy, we're talking about 28-year-old Jason Gebhardt, who has been in prison. He was sentenced to 12 years. He's done two years. And you say he's innocent, that he's in there on charges that never should have been brought. Give us a little account of the status and what happened here.

AT - Sure, Tom. Thanks. Well, you might wonder, how can someone who is innocent, with no evidence against him, end up in jail. That's what happened to Jason Gebhardt. Everyone who worked on this case has children, so we're sensitive to any youth or infant who is injured. Jason Gebhardt was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was getting a ride to work with his girlfriend, the mother of the baby. He changed the baby's diaper, placed the baby in the carseat. When they continued on their journey the baby became ill. They took him to the hospital. Doctors really didn't know what was going on, [there were] contradictory diagnoses at both Danbury Hospital and Yale New Haven. Jason was there, they focused on him and there's absolutely no evidence that Jason ever harmed the child.

TM - The child did not die?

AT - No, the child is fine. In fact, recently the Danbury News Times ran a picture of the kid smiling at a swimming pool. He's doing great.

TM - I think the charge was that in moving him, he did it roughly … in kind of a harsh manner?

AT - It's just bizarre and absurd. The theory of the case has no basis in reality. In fact, there were prior injuries and there were other suspects that the police ignored, that the prosecutor ignored. In this case there was police misconduct, prosecutorial misconduct -- which could be going on to this very day in terms of intimidation of witnesses -- there was judicial misconduct, juror misconduct. It's a terrible case.

TM - You describe [Jason Gebhardt] as one - again, he's 28 years old - one who is sort of a Casper Milquetoast kind of guy who just took everything that was thrown at him and never really in his own words put up any kind of a defense. Is he the kind of guy who could be pushed around?

AT - He's a low-key guy. He's from a nice family, regular people. They're not prominent … they don't have political juice. They hired a number of lawyers who did a pathetic job and took a lot of money from them. And the police lied to medical personnel, saying Jason confessed when he had not. The intimidated him and other witnesses. They got him to admit to innocuous things like, "Oh, gee, I get frustrated when the baby cries a lot," things like that.

TM - You say there are other suspects, people who were in close proximity to the baby and had some kind of contact with the baby.

AT - Right, the baby's mother has told our investigative team that her brother has a history of violence to animals - throwing scalding water on a dog, kicking the cat, throwing the cat off the couch, things like that. We have reason to believe that this was a violent household. We've seen pictures of filth in this house, evidence of neglect that was buried by the prosecutor. And, in fact, the police did intimidate the baby's mother by saying if she didn't finger Jason the kid would come home in a coffin the size of a cooler.

TM - So you talk about his pathetic defense, you talk about prosecutorial misconduct, how about the judge in a case like that. I mean, a judge has some discretion.

AT - The judge actually helped prosecution witnesses. For example, if a witness had a prior statement, before the defense attorney could show inconsistencies, the judge would order that the statement be reviewed. So, it's like you have a chance to double-check everything. There were many irregularities in this case, Tom.

TM - Where are we now? You're talking about this, obviously, you feel this fellow Jason should does not belong in prison at all, he should be out.

AT - I'm certain he's not guilty. And I believe he is absolutely innocent. No way he's guilty.

TM - What are you doing? Are you trying to push this thing forward to another trial?

AT - Atty. Richard Cohen of Hartford is preparing a motion for a new trial and / or a Habeas. The investigative team has started a Justice for Jason Gebhardt Trust ...

TM - We have at that up on the screen now [Justice for Jason Gebhardt Trust, C/O Atty. Richard Cohen, 2 Congress St., Hartford, CT 06114]

AT - ... with some modest donations, and we will be having fundraising events with Poets And Writers For Justice and other groups.

TM - How is he doing now? I'm sure you're in contact with him to a degree. I mean, he must be, he's done a couple years and he's looking at maybe 10 more, it's got to be a very depressing feeling for him.

AT - He's very sad. He's very flat. He has no hope. We're working hard to give him some hope and get him out of jail.

TM - What are the prospects for all this happening, through Atty. Cohen.

AT - Well, if I have time, let me just read a quick statement by Mike Lawlor, co-chair of Judiciary. He said: "If the allegations in this report are in fact true, there may be reason to re-open this case and have a new trial …" Mike Lawlor also said: "My hope is that our state's prosecutors and others will take a look at this information and determine whether they feel a new trial is appropriate - or, at least a reconsideration, a formal reconsideration of the evidence." I bet the ranch that any capable prosecutor or judge who looks at the case would say, "Get this guy out of jail right now."

TM - Is there a next legal step we should be looking for here?

AT - It will be the filing of a motion for a new trial by Atty. Richard Cohen of Hartford.

TM - Andy, thanks so much for coming in. I want to plug a couple books that you published here, one is The 12-Minute MBA for Lawyers

AT - That's Law Tribune Books.

TM - Yeah, and, of course, this one here, Law & Justice, which has some interesting comments on the cover: "Dirty Cops, Political Hacks, Inept Judges and Bureaucratic Inertia." I like those lines. Andy, thanks so much for coming in and being with us on the program. We'll stay in touch with you and follow the case of Jason Gebhardt right down the road. I appreciate your time.

AT - Thanks so much.

TM - Private investigator Andy Thibault our guest. Thanks so much for joining us on this Sunday morning, I'm Tom Monahan, see you next week on Connecticut Newsmakers.

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