James Gainforth is led to his sentencing on April 25, 1985.
Gainforth
The convicted murderer from Traverse City will be visiting his hometown for the first time in more than two decades when he appears in 13th Circuit Court today to argue his innocence before Judge Thomas Power.
Gainforth, now 42, is serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder and robbery of a gas station attendant in a 1984 shooting at a minimart along South Airport Road. He's already spent more than 21 years behind bars.
In the highly-publicized jury trial, co-conspirators Douglas Hutchinson and Kevin Snyder pleaded to lesser charges for their role in the murder and testified against Gainforth.
In Gainforth's recent motion for relief of judgement he argues, among other things, that his poor eyesight would have made it impossible for him to "sight in on a target,” according to court records. Gainforth claims that his defense attorney at the time, Michael J. Haley, was ineffective and the prosecutor, John D. Foresman, relied on false material evidence and perjurious witnesses for the conviction.
Haley and Foresman are now 86th District Court judges.
"Mr. Gainforth has always maintained his innocence,” said Valerie R. Newman, Gainforth's appellate attorney. "I think there is an excellent argument to be made. There was a lot of evidence that was not brought out at the original trial that absolutely should have been presented to the jury to discredit Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Snyder.”
Both men have since recanted their original testimony and Hutchinson will be in the courtroom today, Newman said. Snyder pleaded guilty to armed robbery and is serving 32 to 48 years at Kinross Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula.
READ MORE:http://archives.record-eagle.com/2006/dec/19gainforth.htm
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