Ohio Man Gets 36 Years to Life in ‘Blink’ Testimony Murder Case
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Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(CINCINNATI) — An Ohio man plans to appeal his 36 years to life sentence for murder after videotaped testimony of a dying man, whose eye blinks were used to identify his alleged killer, helped lead to his conviction.
Ricardo Woods, 35, was sentenced Thursday for the murder of David Chandler, and on felonious assaults and weapons charges.
Much of the case against Woods hinged on a 17-minute video in which detectives showed Chandler, who was paralyzed and hooked up to a ventilator, a picture of Woods and asked if Woods was the man who shot him. He was told to blink two times to say “no” and three times to say “yes.”
The controversial blink testimony video was shown during Woods’ trial last month after a judge denied the defense’s request to not show it.
“Police set up these rules, and they asked him a series of questions,” Woods’ attorney, Kory Jackson, told ABC News in April. “There are times he doesn’t blink at all in response to questions. There are times he blinks more than three times, so it is often unclear what exactly he is trying to communicate.”
Woods was accused of fatally shooting Chandler in the head and neck on Oct. 28, 2010, in Cincinnati.
Detectives interviewed Chandler on Nov. 2, 2010. Ten days later, he died of complications from his paralysis and gunshot wounds.
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