CLEVELAND, Ohio — In 2018, three East Cleveland men walked free after spending two decades in prison for a murder they did not commit. Their exoneration was not the result of a sudden confession or a miraculous DNA test. It came from access to police records — specifically, supplemental witness statements and officers’ early impressions — that should have been disclosed long ago.
These records, buried for years, held the truth. And it was only because they eventually came to light that justice was done for Laurese Glover, Eugene Johnson and Derrick Wheatt.
Now, Ohio lawmakers are trying to make sure circumstances like theirs never arise again — not by preventing wrongful convictions, but by making it harder for anyone to uncover them…