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12/19/2006
Convicted killer wins new court hearing
Gainforth
TRAVERSE CITY — James F. Gainforth says he didn't do it. 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. Hutchinson was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a 40- to 60-year sentence at Southern Michigan Correctional Facility in Jackson. "Those two witnesses are the crux of the prosecution's case,” Newman said. "If you take Mr. Hutchinson's and Mr. Snyder's testimony out of the evidence, then there is nothing left for the jury to rely on to convict Mr. Gainforth.” But recanted testimony is not the most credible evidence, Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Alan Schneider said. He said the two men knew elements of the crime that no one else could. "Recanted testimony as a basis for a new trial is seldom successful,” Schneider said. "The courts look at it with a great deal of suspicion. They are recanting not only Gainforth's participation but also their own.” An eye doctor will be in court to testify that Gainforth still suffers from the same vision problems that an Army medical doctor noted in reports prior to the crime, Newman said. Witnesses testified that Gainforth was about 60 yards away when he shot the gas station attendant, Newman said. But military reports show that Gainforth repeatedly failed his tests on the rifle range. There is evidence, however, that Gainforth enjoyed shooting guns and had purchased a rifle shortly before the murder, Schneider said. "He could shoot a rifle and hit a target,” the prosecutor said. "Even if the jury had heard this evidence, it doesn't appear to me that it would have changed the outcome.” Power is expected to rule on the motion this week. If he grants the motion, Gainforth will get a new trial. As for Gainforth, "he is anxious to go home,” Newman said.
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