An Ohio savage who spent more than two years behind bars on a murder conviction had all but one of the charges dropped this week since the jury saw him shackled during trial, an appeals court ruled.
Justus Robertson, 22, was sentenced to 29 years in prison for an “ambush” assault in July 2022 when he viciously gunned down Christopher Roberts, 21, at an apartment complex in Columbus.
But on Tuesday — more than two years after his sentencing — the Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals decided to drop six of the seven charges against Robertson after ruling that his constitutional rights were violated during trial.
At trial, Robertson was ordered to wear visible leg irons, but the court claims there was no justification for it.
The Fifth, Sixth and 14th amendments of the US Constitution forbid the use of visible shackles, except for cases where the accused poses a danger of violence or escape, the appeals court wrote in its ruling.
Robertson did not pose either, the court ruling said.
The appellate court also found that shackling Robertson tainted the jury’s perception and jeopardized his opportunity to a free and fair trial.
As as result, the court overturned his convictions for aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, improper discharge into a habitation and three counts of felonious assault.
Robertson will be retried on those six charges, but won’t be leaving jail anytime soon — the top charge for murder was the only conviction to stick.
Robertson and his accomplice, Xavier Colvin, were both sentenced for murdering Roberts, who was found bleeding out in a building stairwell after the pair “ambushed” him, police said at the time, as reported by WSYX.
“Once the victim started running back to where he came from, he was again met with gunfire. Everywhere this young man turned, he was met with gunfire,” Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Toth said.
Colvin pleaded guilty in March 2023 and was sentenced to a maximum of 21.5 years in prison.
Robertson’s own mother also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and was sentenced to one year of community control.
