View Full Version : Ersland asks again for a new trial.



kelroy55
05-22-2014, 11:34 AM
A former pharmacist convicted of murder is again seeking a new trial, this time saying he has remembered suppressed details that support his innocence.



Jerome Jay Ersland, 62, is serving a life sentence for fatally shooting an already wounded teenage robber inside a south Oklahoma City drugstore in 2009.

Ersland on Wednesday asked his trial judge for relief based on newly discovered evidence. His attorney, Doug Friesen, said Ersland suppressed the details because he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Such delayed memory and recall is not unusual in traumatic occurrences,” Friesen told Oklahoma County District Judge Ray C. Elliott in an application for post-conviction relief.

Claims memory delayed

In an affidavit, Ersland claims he now remembers he had a second gun in his pants pocket, not in a drawer. He claims he was trying to call 911 when he heard the intruder move so he pulled the gun out of his pocket.

“I saw his hand moving toward a backpack, which I thought contained a weapon,” Ersland stated.

Ersland was the pharmacist on duty at Reliable Discount Pharmacy, 5900 S Pennsylvania Ave., when two robbers came in near closing time on May 19, 2009. He chased an armed robber away and killed the second, unarmed robber.

Jurors at his trial agreed Ersland was in the wrong. They rejected his claim of self-defense.

Prosecutors put on evidence at trial that the second robber, Antwun Parker, 16, was knocked unconscious and to the floor from a head shot from Ersland’s first gun. They put on evidence that Ersland — after chasing away the first robber — got a second gun from a pharmacy drawer and fired five more shots into the boy’s body. Prosecutors argued their evidence proved the boy was not moving on the floor when he was shot again.

The key evidence against Ersland came from security cameras that recorded the shooting.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals last June turned down Ersland’s request for an appeal on different grounds.

Former Oklahoma City pharmacist wants his trial judge to overturn murder conviction | News OK (http://newsok.com/former-oklahoma-city-pharmacist-wants-his-trial-judge-to-overturn-murder-conviction/article/4845125)

kevinpate
05-22-2014, 11:55 AM
I'm not anticipating the courts will find the twist of recently recovered memories of any significant interest.

Grisham might.


Bottom line, if you go about destroying your own credibility, it's hard to be seen as credible.

kelroy55
05-22-2014, 12:19 PM
I agree..... 'Oh Yeah, I just remembered' doesn't usually get you too far.