The Body
The Wrongful Conviction of Jamie Snow
(FreeJamieSnow.com)
THE PLOT
Jamie Snow was wrongfully convicted for a crime he did not commit. He was convicted based upon the “credibility” of the witnesses, each of whom has now been shown to have lied, been paid off with cash, given a lesser prison sentence, threatened with an extended sentence, or given some kind of benefit. One eyewitness has recanted his testimony and the other has been shown to have given false testimony. The original homicide investigator, Charles Crowe, believed Jamie Snow was innocent and cleared Jamie of the crime. Crowe retired in June 1997 and a year and a half later, on December 1, 1998, Det. Dan Katz took over the cold case and Jamie Snow became the sole target. Jamie’s constitutional rights were violated at trial. Brady evidence, which tends to show a person is innocent, was withheld from the defense in multiple instances. Witnesses were manufactured, engineered, and manipulated by the prosecution and detectives. Proof of this official misconduct has been obtained through FOIA requests after Jamie’s original appeal was denied. Jamie has now received 16 post-conviction affidavits from witnesses recanting their testimony. He remains in prison 22 years after this travesty of justice. Please help us right this wrong!
William “Bill” Little was murdered during an armed robbery at the Clark Oil gas station on Empire and Linden in Bloomington, Illinois on Easter Sunday March 31, 1991. $93 dollars were taken during the robbery. Bill may have struggled with the perpetrator and was shot twice through the heart killing him instantly. The cash drawer was missing. None of the physical or forensic evidence collected implicates Jamie Snow, neither was any presented at trial. The State is refusing to test for DNA based upon the theory that the jury worked very hard to reach their guilty verdict and that their judgement should not be questioned. Considering all the new evidence, Jamie believes he should at least be allowed to pay for the DNA testing himself and to receive an evidentiary hearing leading to a new trial and hopefully to his ultimate exoneration for this horrible crime.
As you will clearly see, it was the prosecutors’ strategy to overwhelm the jury with as many witnesses as possible and to withhold critical pieces of evidence from the defense and jury. They absolutely knew most of the witnesses they presented committed perjury when they testified falsely against Jamie and Susan at their trials. They obviously did not care. States Attorney Charles Reynard withdrew the Capital Murder Death Penalty indictment against Jamie once he saw all the attorneys and resources Jamie was receiving (according to one of the original defense attorneys, John…). This made all these seasoned lawyers, and all their resources immediately go away. Jamie’s judge then removed his next entire public defender team based on a supposed conflict of interest. Amy Davis Johnson, the lead defense attorney, had represented one of the witnesses against Jamie 10 years prior. Even though she offered to not be present during the witness’ testimony, Judge Bernardi removed Jamie’s entire defense team and appointed Pat Riley and Frank Picl to be Jamie’s public defender defense counsel. Pat Riley had just had a stroke the month before, and Frank Picl was a self-admitted chronic alcoholic and untreated bipolar with a major gambling addiction at the time of Jamie’s trial. Jamie’s judge and prosecutors made sure Jamie had the deck stacked against him from the very beginning.
Jamie’s Sentencing Debacle…ASA Teena Griffin talked Judge Bernardi into giving Jamie life without parole after Bernardi said, I can’t really do that, can I? She convinced him that Jamie’s life was disposable because he was unreformable, even though Jamie had not been in trouble since the Freedom robbery incident in February of 1991. He was eventually convicted of obstruction of justice for the Freedom robbery but that conviction was actually nothing new. By the time of his wrongful murder conviction, Jamie had started a successful tree cutting business and was doing the best he’d done in his life.
THE ACTORS
THE EYEWITNESSES
Danny Martinez - New post-conviction evidence shows that on July 18, 2000, Martinez positively identified Jamie Snow in the prosecutor’s office, after having met with them nine times in the previous10 months. This was less than one month before Susan Claycomb’s trial, 8-1/2 years after the crime. Martinez failed to identify Jamie Snow in an in-person line up in June 1991 and several photo line-ups which included Snow. He picked out two other individuals during the in-person line up as possibly the perpetrator he saw leaving the station. Martinez changed his testimony, saying he was 85% sure it was Snow at Claycomb’s trial to he was 100%sure it was Snow at Snow’s trial. Jamie’s jurors were unaware of this change in testimony. Martinez’ composite drawing of Jamie Snow was not used for several years. The police most likely discounted his statements because of William’s and Pelo’s eyewitness of him in the parking lot and that he did not see the perpetrator carrying the missing cash drawer. His description did not match either of the other two alleged eyewitnesses differing descriptions. The perpetrator he describes had a spring jacket, was 5’ 9” or 5’ 10”, shoulder length brownish-blonde hair, unshaven with a ball cap. Jamie Snow is 6’ 1”. Martinez told police that night that the perpetrator backed out of the station with his hands in his pockets. His statements of exactly how he came to see the perp in the parking lot evolved over the years. Martinez has not yet come forward to explain why he changed his testimony to a positive identification of Jamie Snow.
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Carlos Luna - 14 years old. Carlos has since written an affidavit, stating he could not have positively identified Jamie Snow at the station through his window because of the distance involved (212’ 6”). He stated in testimony at trial that he closed his eyes during the in-person line up and tried to imagine who he saw and Snow was the one he imagined so he picked Snow. In other words, he guessed. Thomas Sanders, the police sketch artist, could not get any facial information from either Juan or Carlos Luna to make a composite drawing of the alleged suspicion the night of the crime. Carlos Luna cannot state exactly what time he saw the suspect, only that he came out of the station forwards, was wearing a trench coat and appeared to have a “cash drawer insert” under his coat. How could he tell this was a cash drawer insert? Did the police suggest this to him?
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Gerardo Gutierrez - originally told police he was at the station around 8pm, went straight home and looked at the clock which said 8:12pm. He claims to have purchased $3 dollars of gas, that Bill Little seemed nervous and dropped some of his coins and gave a description for a composite of a man arguing with Bill inside the station. The alleged perpetrator had a fresh scar on his left chin, an earring and was wearing a ball cap, a black leather jacket and ball cap. Over time, the police convinced Gutierrez that he was actually at the station closer to 7pm, which fit into the prosecutions narrative of the drug fueled return to the station from a party down the street, to demand cigarettes resulting in the alleged murder. This alleged “party” was impeached by the homeowner, Carrol Whitmer. Gutierrez never positively identified Jamie Snow in the in-person line up or other photo line ups. The police used Gutierrez’ composite drawing for two years after which they also published Danny Martinez’ composite. New leads in the case had dried up. Ironically, this composite addition was near the time of Dan Katz’ erroneous case summation and THE MEMO, where Carlos Luna’s testimony at trial is impeached.
THE POLICE WITNESSES
Jeff Pelo - Jeff Pelo has provided a post-conviction affidavit which states there was no way Martinez could have seen anyone coming out of the station. Officer Jeff Pelo and Officer Paul Williams testified at trial they had clear views of the front door of the gas station from the time they both arrived on the scene until discovering Bill Little inside. Each testified they saw no one come out of the gas station even though they were focused on the front door. How did two police officers miss the perpetrator getting away yet Danny Martinez witnessed it? They were all there at the same time.
Paul Williams -
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Dan Katz - Katz was a supporting detective under lead investigator Charles Crowe early in the case. New post-conviction evidence reveals Detective Dan Katz wrote an erroneous synopsis of his view of the casein 1993 implicating Jamie Snow as the sole perpetrator of the Clark station murder. This is evident by “the Memo,” written by a member of the Bloomington Gas Station Robbery Taskforce Lead Detective Sergeant Irvin. The memo cautions against coming to conclusions against Jamie Snow because there was no credible evidence against him and that other detectives had been wrong in the1988S&SLiquors multiple murder investigation. The memo clearly impeaches the eyewitness and positive identification of Jamie Snow by Carlos Luna. Detective Katz took over the cold case investigation when Lead Investigator Charles Crowe retired in 1998. Katz had already concluded Jamie Snow was guilty as early as 1993 and he then proceeded to manufacture witnesses through bribery and extortion in a conscious attempt to railroad Jamie Snow. As evidenced by “the Memo,” he ignored all leads that implicated any of the many other possible suspects. His focus from the beginning was solely on James Snow as guilty of the crime. Detective Katz was a former truancy officer at Bloomington High School and had known Jamie Snow from that time. Detective Katz, according to Danielle Roland’s affidavit, threatened and later stalked her.
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Charlie Crowe – washed his hands of his personal belief that Jamie Snow did not do the crime but that he knew who did it. His testimony was not significant to either side.
Russell “Rusty” Thomas – committed perjury by testifying at Jamie’s 2000/2001 trial, that Jamie said he, “Knew something about the murder,” when Jamie, in contrast, was telling the officer that he may know something about the “Freedom robbery” for which he had just been arrested. Detective Thomas did not mention anything about Jamie talking about the murder at the 1991 Freedom Robbery Grand Jury nor was any follow up made on Jamie in the murder case.
(Notably Absent – Rick Barkes) – The first “Jamie told me he did it” witness, Ed Palumbo, was good friends with Detective Barkes and was sleeping with is wife!
THE PROSECUTORS
Charles Reynard - District Attorney and lead prosecutor. It can now be shown Reynard has been involved as the District Attorney in several other overturned and wrongful convictions. He became a judge the very next year after engineering Jamie Snow’s wrongful conviction.
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Teena Griffin - Assistant State’s Attorney and assistant prosecutor. It can now be shown this government official lied during the trial and covered up a deal she made with witness Bruce Roland. She became the State’s Attorney for Schyler County where, not so ironically, Jamie Snow’s appeals where relocated due to Reynard being a judge in McLean County. During closing arguments, Ms. Griffin consciously brought in information that she knew was false.
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Wang
THE JAILHOUSE SNITCH PARADE
Ed Palumbo - the drive by “saw you in the paper” witness. Ed has fully recanted his testimony in a post-conviction affidavit. He now states his testimony was extorted by detectives. He states while in prison awaiting his release, a month before Jamie Snow’s trial, Detectives Katz and Barkes had his personal possessions taken from him, had him put in segregation and threatened him with five-ten more years of prison for aggravated obstruction of justice if he did not testify against Jamie Snow. His recantation affidavit is evidence of official criminal misconduct for his extorted false testimony at trial by the prosecution and detectives.
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Shannon Schmidt - Ed Palumbo’s girlfriend. Anew evidence taped interview with detectives reveals her telling the police she was not in the car with Ed Palumbo during the alleged “saw you in the paper, boom, boom, gun go off, kid dies” conversation between Ed and Jamie. This is proof the police coerced her testimony to say she was in the car in order to corroborate jailhouse snitch Ed Palumbo’s false testimony. She committed perjury at both trials.
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Steven Scheel - His statements to police have evolved over the years. New post-conviction evidence reveals he failed a polygraph regarding his future testimony at trial. This was withheld from the defense. In May of 1991 Steven was arrested for sexual abuse of a minor under 13 years old. Newly discovered withheld evidence shows that, originally, while being detained for this crime, he stated to police on August 9, 1991, that Jamie allegedly confessed to Molly Pfister at a party, not to himself. In 1993, Steven’s brother called in a tip that Jamie had allegedly directly confessed to Steven to help him get a reduction of his brother’s rape sentence. Another tip to the police, this time from Scheel’s lawyer, claims that Steven told his dad that Jamie had allegedly confessed to Steven directly. Steven testified eventually at trial that Jamie had confessed to him directly. All these police statements were withheld from the defense. In 2005 (with Anthony Matens) and 2009 (with Larry Beila and Tara Thompson), Steven wrote out an affidavit recanting his entire testimony, but his new wife convinced him not to sign it at the last minute. Investigators Anthony Matins and Larry Villa have given affidavits confirming the recantation attempts and Scheel’s refusal to sign. In his recantation, Steven claims Bloomington Police detectives threatened him after he told them he believed Snow did not confess to him. Steven’s original 1991 statement, his failing the polygraph regarding his future testimony and his testimony at trial are evidence the Bloomington Police detectives and prosecution manipulated him into testifying falsely at Jamie’s trial. He committed perjury and the prosecutors knew it.
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Molly Eads - hosted the alleged party that Jamie allegedly confessed to Steven Scheel. Molly testified that Scheel, Claycomb and Snow were at the party and Jamie was wearing a grungy flannel shirt. This shirt testimony was added much later in a 1999 police report. Her testimony was given to corroborate Steven Scheel’sfalsetestimony.In1993, Molly states to police she hasn’t seen Jamie for5-7years making her trial testimony of events impossible. The murder happened in 1991, only two years prior to this statement. Molly also originally stated that she probably could not identify Snow if she saw him. New post-conviction evidence of Molly’s initial statements to police and her future embellished testimony are evidence the detectives and prosecution manipulated her into testifying falsely against Jamie Snow.
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Bruce Roland – the DUI king. New post-conviction evidence shows he received a concurrent rather than consecutive sentence deal through the State’s Attorney for multiple DUIs, thus reducing his sentence by 7-15 years. Roland was a jailhouse snitch who had previously failed a polygraph regarding his future testimony. This was also withheld from the defense. Roland failed to identify Snow in the court room when asked by the prosecutor. Roland was writing Prosecutor Teena Griffin saying that he had information on other crimesin1994 but never mentioned Jamie Snow had confessed to him. It wasn’t until his attorney called prosecutors in 1999, after his 5thDUI, that he offered information that Jamie had allegedly confessed to him. He also claimed Susan Claycomb gave him a black leather jacket to pawn and that the coat belonged to Snow. His testimony is evidence the prosecution knew he was lying.
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Danielle Roland - New post-conviction evidence reveals Danielle agreed to be wiretapped calling Karen Strong to get testimony against Jamie Snow and to get a sentencing plea deal for her husband Bruce Roland. Jamie’s judge, Judge Bernardi, signed these wiretap orders. Danielle was trying to work out a deal for Karen Strong in order for Karen be able to keep her dog at a trailer park. During these wiretapped calls, Danielle initiated conversations about Jamie and Karen’s boyfriend Mark McGowen. Danielle was helping the prosecution in order to help reduce her husband’s multiple felonies. It worked. Danielle provided in her affidavit that Detective Dan Katz’ threatened her and later stalked her. Apparently, Katz’ wife was responsible for issuing Childcare licenses in Bloomington. Danielle had a Childcare license and business.
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William Moffit - Jailhouse snitch and convicted rapist who alleges Jamie Snow confessed to him in prison. They were cell mates for one night only in 1995. New post-conviction evidence shows he reached out to detectives in 1995 and Investigator Crowe seems to have discounted his statement because there is no more mention of it until detective Katz re-interviews Moffit in 1998 while he’s in prison awaiting trial on rape charges. Detective Crowe had since retired, and Detective Katz had become the lead investigator of the cold case. In his police report, it is noted that Moffit told detectives that Ed Hammond, knew more about the Snow matter because it was Hammond who had told Moffit. Yet he still claimed to have gotten a confession from Jamie even though they had spent less than 12 hours together in a cell.
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Ed Hammond - Jailhouse snitch and convicted bank robber. New post-conviction evidence reveals he was given a reduced federal sentence for testifying against Jamie by claiming Jamie allegedly confessed to him in prison. They were not even housed in the same block while briefly at the same institution. Hammond claimed at trial to have “snuck over” to Jamie’s yard where the alleged murder confession happened. So, it could not have happened. He lied and has since fully recanted his testimony that Jamie confessed a murder to him, and that Hammond had received a sweetheart sentencing deal for his testimony against Jamie. Charles Reynard was a longtime friend and former coworker of the federal prosecutor who gave Hammond the federal deal in exchange for his testimony against Jamie Snow.
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Tim Moews -
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Kevin Schaal - Jailhouse snitch. New post-conviction evidence reveals Schaal received a sweetheart federal deal by having his mandatory minimum sentence for carjacking, theft and battery committed in Florida more than cut in half “for agreeing to testify at a murder trial in Illinois.” Kevin was Jamie’s cell mate for three months in 1995 in Illinois. He then showed up with his family on Jamie’s doorstep in Florida the next year. Jamie helped Kevin find a job and helped him pay for an apartment to house his family. New post-conviction evidence shows that after being arrested on felony firearms charges in 1999, Kevin told the ATF, DA Charles Reynard and Det. Katz that Jamie had allegedly confessed to him. Jamie was indicted just a few months later in September of 1999.
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Jody Winkler – Newly discovered withheld post-conviction evidence shows that Winkler received a sweetheart deal by having his sentence reduced by half. His sentencing judge was Judge Bernardi, Jamie’s trial judge. Winkler’s statements to detectives also changed over time. Jody, also from Bloomington, met Jamie in 1999 in Florida through another acquaintance from Bloomington. Jamie took Jody in when he was down on his luck. Jamie gave Jody money, a place to stay and a job at Jamie’s tree cutting business. Jody had a drug problem so within two months he quit and just disappeared. He was arrested in 1999 in Bloomington for fraud/felony forgery while on parole. At that time Winkler told detectives Jamie allegedly confessed to him at the beach in a pickup truck while drinking beer in the rain earlier that year in Florida.
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Ronnie Wright - jailhouse snitch who testified that Jamie allegedly confessed to him in prison. He has since provided a remorseful post-conviction affidavit recanting fully his testimony that Jamie had confessed to the murder. Ronnie now says he testified because of revenge. He and Jamie had gotten into an argument over dominos while they were together in prison and as a result Ronnie was sent to segregation. Ronnie admitted to committed perjury at Jamie’s trial.
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Dan Tannaz - Dan Tannaz, a Vietnam veteran, was an acquaintance of Jamie's when he lived in Florida. They worked together. He testified that Jamie had told him he was involved in a robbery or something like that in Illinois, and that Jamie had asked him what it was like to kill somebody. Tannaz has since given an affidavit clarifying this testimony, stating that Jamie had stated that someone was accusing him of a robbery, and that he never said anything about being involved in a murder. Tannaz also stated that the detectives told him that Jamie Snow had shot his father and had killed a young kid that worked at a gas station fora small amount of money, beer, and cigarettes. He stated he had no knowledge of any murder, and that while he was waiting to testify, the police detective gave him a newspaper with the trial in the headlines.
The Other Troubled State’s Witnesses
Randy Howard - the Bus Ride Witness. He claims he called Jamie Snow for a ride home from the bus station the day after the murder and that Jamie had allegedly confessed to him. At this time, Jamie and Tammy Snow did not have a phone and did not own a car. I could not have happened, he lied. Jamie’s lawyers did not present evidence of this at trial. He had not seen Jamiesince10 years prior when they were neighbors. Randy was just a kid to Jamie when they knew each other, Jamie being several years older. New post-conviction evidence withheld from the defense reveals Howard forgot he was at the police station money from Crime Stoppers just one week after the William Little homicide. In this report, he does not mention Jamie Snow, but gives information on several other crimes. It wasn’t until 2000 that he was approached by detectives regarding having information on Jamie Snow. Randy Howard has provided a post-conviction affidavit which recants his trial testimony.
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Mary Burns - the corrections officer Jamie allegedly confessed to while he was in prison for the Freedom Oil obstructing justice conviction. She was having an affair with an inmate and believed to have been compromised by the prosecution because of this. This affair could have brought felony charges against her. Jamie’s attorneys failed to call witnesses Demetrice Crite, Lindsey Caldwell, Darren Smart and Chris Salmon, who Burns claims were present at the alleged confession.
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The “Reverend” Bill Gaddis - alleged to be a pedophile by his brother and sister-in-law and known to be a compulsive liar. His half-brother Franklin Roberts testified to this at trial. He was not actually an ordained minister, having only received a certificate from an ad in the back of a magazine. He alleged that Jamie Snow confessed by omission at a supposed “crying” party. Two at this alleged meeting, Denny Hendricks and Mike Higgins, have given affidavits that it never happened the other two are now deceased. Franklin Roberts also testified his half-brother, Bill Gaddis, was not welcome at the apartment where the confession by omission was supposed to have taken place.
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Dawn Roberts - testified at trial that Jamie poured out a beer at an outdoor party and stated, “This is for Bill.” Dawn has now provided a post-conviction affidavit stating that her entire testimony was false. Jamie’s attorneys failed to call witnesses Tina McWorter, Scottt Rose and Billy Morris, whom Dawn had claimed also heard the alleged ambiguous confession. They could have impeached her false testimony at trial.
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Shane Talon – Shane was Susan Claycomb’s ex-boyfriend and witness Julie Knight’s brother. Shane testified at both trials that Jamie confessed to the murder at the kitchen table in a trailer. Shane has fully recanted his false trial testimony in a post-conviction taped interview with Tam Alexander, Jamie’s advocate. He fully impeaches his sister’s and Bridgett Logsdon’s false trial testimony.
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Bridget Logsdon – Bridget was former best friends with a witness against Susan Claycomb, Julie Knight. She testified at Jamie’s trial but not at Susan’s trial. She claimed to be at the table confession of Tammy Snow that Jamie allegedly committed the murder.
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Karen Ballinger Strong - gave several statements to the police each becoming more and more descriptive. She is heard on a wiretap with Danielle Roland saying she knows nothing about the crime or any involvement by Jamie Snow. Karen is the girlfriend of Mark “Stretch” McGowen, Jamie Snow’s best friend. Her grossly evolving testimony is proof the detectives manipulated her. Karen’s husband, Kevin Strong, received a deal. Kevin pled guilty to one count each of domestic battery bodily harm, interfering with reporting of domestic violence resisting obstructing police officer correction employee. The rest of the charges were dropped, and Kevin received a 24-month probation for the remaining charges. Karen testified at Jamie's trial on January 9, and January 12th of 2001. On February 22, 2001, Kevin had another case for deceptive practices of writing a bad check. Jamie was sentenced on May 10, 2001. Andon June 6, 2001, Kevin was arrested again for two counts of domestic battery with bodily harm and two counts of unlawful restraint. Both felonies. All charges were dismissed. Karen’s dog is getting kicked out of the trailer park and Danielle Roland is telling her she can rectify the situation.
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Tim Powell - Tim Powell testified that he, his sister Susan Powell, Jamie Snow, and Tammy Snow stopped at a nearby Freedom gas station about three or four weeks before the Clark Station crime. He testified Jamie got out and bought some beer and said he was going to rob the place in the future. He testified they rode around by the Whitmer’s house and that Jamie got out and talked to Brian Whitmer. Powell had criminal charges pending at the time of his Snow trial testimony. According to Brian Whitmer’s trial testimony, Jamie and Brian were enemies, not friends, so this scenario by Tim Powell seems very doubtful.
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(Notably Absent – Travis Gaddis) – Travis Gaddis’ taped interview with Bloomington police reveals that he was asking for a deal and was likely about to be given one for his testimony against Jamie Snow. He did not testify at either Jamie’s or Susan’s trials. Travis was one of the primary sources of the bogus Jamie Snow “confession” parade and of the spreading of this to the “Bloomington rumor mill.” He had told his cousin, Rick Bradford, of this alleged confession by Snow and so Rick wrote the victim’s mother relaying the false story to her. Many years later, in a taped interview, Rick Bradford, reveals he had since talked to his cousin Travis, and that Travis denied ever saying it. Rick stated that he believes Jamie is innocent and not capable of committing the crime.
The Defense Witnesses
William “Billy” Hendricks - testified that alleged eyewitness, Danny Martinez had told him Jamie Snow was not the person he saw coming out of the gas station. This conversation happened while they were carpooling to work. Billy has since died.
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Kim Morris - impeaches Bridget Logsdon’s trial testimony. Bridget had stated that Kim was present when Jamie allegedly confessed to the William Little murder. Kim did not testify at either trial but denies the incident ever took place. Kim has provided an affidavit against an alternate suspect.
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Mark McGowen – Mark was Jamie’s best friend at the time of the William Little homicide. He refuted the trial testimony of his girlfriend at the time, Karen Strong. He testified Jamie never came over on the night of the crime.
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Franklin Roberts (aka Garen Bradford) -
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Brian Whitmer - testified that he was no friend of Jamie Snow’s and was in jail at the time of the alleged party just down the street from which Jamie Snow was alleged by Bruce Roland to have staged the robbery and murder. Carl Whitmer, Brian’s father, says there was never a party at any time and that he remembers the police interviewing him the night of the crime.
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Carrol Whitmer - Brian’s dad, testified at trial there was absolutely no party at his house on the night of the crime. He testified that he remembered it very well because police had interviewed him that night when police were canvasing the neighborhood. He testified his son was in jail the night of the crime and that his son did not have parties at his house. He impeaches the prosecution’s theory that Jamie was on a drug crazed murder quest in order to get a pack of cigarettes the night of the crime. Recall Danny Martinez testified at trial that the perpetrator’s eyes looked like he was on drugs and up all night.
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Tammy Snow - Jamie’s ex-wife continues to stand by her testimony that Jamie was at home the night of the crime and maintains his innocence to this day. They were divorced in 1997, before Jamie’s conviction in 2001.
Susan Powell-Claycomb - Jamie Snow’s codefendant was acquitted in August 2000 in a trial by jury just before Jamie’s trial. Susan maintained that Jamie was innocent and participated in Free Jamie Snow events until her passing in2014. Susan was Jamie’s sister-in-law, married to his wife’s brother.
Jamie Snow - aged 26 at the time of the William Little homicide, Jamie was convicted ten years later based solely upon hearsay and faulty eyewitness testimony. He was sentenced to life without parole and deemed un-reformable by his trial judge even though he had started and maintained a successful tree cutting business in the years before his murder conviction. Through new evidence obtained through FOIA requests after his initial appeal was denied, every single witness, including two eyewitnesses, have now all been impeached. The new evidence also proves official misconduct by the judge, prosecutors, and detectives in the case. Twenty-four years later, Jamie continues to serve his sentence and maintain his innocence.
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Mark Huffington – did not testify at trial but has provided an affidavit that refutes Karen Strong’s trial Testimony.
The Susan Powell Acquittal Witnesses
Mark Foster - This defense investigator testified at Susan Claycomb’s trial and not at Jamie Snow’s trial. Snow’s lawyer failed to lay the foundation for his testimony and so could not call him as a defense witness. He testified at Claycomb’s trial that Martinez had told him on July 13, 2000, that Jamie Snow was, “Definitely not the guy I saw.” Had Mark Foster been put on the defense list and testified at Snow’s trial, he would have impeached Danny Martinez’ eyewitness testimony as he’d done in Claycomb’s trial.
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Detective Thomas Sanders – police composite artist, who testified at Jamie’s codefendant’s trial, that alleged eyewitness, Carlos Luna, could not provide any information for a composite on the night of the William Little Murder. He did not testify because Jamie’s lawyers failed to lay the foundation to call him as a witness in Jamie’s trial. Susan Claycomb was acquitted, and Jamie Snow was found guilty. They had different attorneys.
The Affidavits
Ed Palumbo
Jeff Pelo
Ronnie Wright
Carlos Luna
Steven Scheel/Larry Beila/Anthony Matens
Kim Morris
Randy Howard
Dan Tannaz
Mark Huffington
Mark McGowen
Maureen Kevin - Mitigation Specialist, gave a 2020 interview stating she’d heard a tape recording of Brenda Little calling Carlos Luna in1999 encouraging him to positively identify Jamie Snow at trial. I know this is in her interview, is this in her affidavit?
Shane Talon’s Interview Statements
The Official Corruption
The Withheld Katz/Irvin Memo
Jamie’s Withheld Polygrapher’s Notes – Martinez had told Crowe Snow was not the guy
The Coercion of Danny Martinez – The Skelton/Claycomb Trial Debacle
Dan “The Witness Whisperer” Katz, coerced several witnesses, also refer to the Drew case
The Withheld Teena Griffin/Bruce Roland Letters
Dan Katz was Bruce Roland’s Lawyers Backyard Neighbor
Dan Katz Threatened and Later Stalked Danielle Roland – Katz’ wife Childcare License issue
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The Withheld Deals
Judge Bernardi’s Removal of Jamie Snow’s First Defense Team
Judge Bernardi’s Failure to Recuse Himself d/t Being Jody Winkler’s Sentencing Judge
Judge Bernardi signed Wiretap Overhear Order’s to Gather Evidence Against Jamie Snow
The Coercion of Shannon Schmidt’s Changing Testimony – She Wasn’t In The Car
The Coercion of Eads to Fabricate Evidence at Trial
Prosecutors Withheld Scheel & Roland Had Failed Polygraphs
Withholding Info of the Sexual Affair Between Witness Palumbo And Julie Barkes
Withholding Info of the Relationship Between Witness Palumbo And Detective Barkes
The Attempted Wrongful Murder Conviction of Susan Powell-Claycomb
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Riley & Picl failed to submit the Defense Witness List in a timely manner.
Not laying the foundation for Mark Foster’s testimony
The Alternate Suspects
The Jeffs – Jeff Miller & Jeff Durbin
Maurice Johnson
Ike Gaston
Danny Hartley
Dion Rhodes
Steve Van Note
Charles Renfro
Jason Manskey
The LeRoy Suspects that were never cleared
The Withheld Evidence Regarding Alternate Suspects
McLean County Wrongful Murder Convictions under SA Charles Reynard
Jamie Snow
Alan Beaman
Donald “Donny” Whalen
Eric Drew
Bart McNeil
Do I believe Jamie Snow is not guilty and innocent of the murder of William Little?
My name is Andy Schiltz. I currently live in McLean County and have been a Registered Nurse for many years in both Bloomington and Champaign Counties. I was on the jury which unanimously acquitted Jamie’s codefendant, Susan Powell-Claycomb, of first-degree murder. She was allegedly the get-away driver, but no credible evidence was presented against her at trial. After much research, I now have an understanding that although the evidence presented at each trial was largely the same, there were several key differences in their trials. Susan had a private attorney who did his homework and was effective and Jamie had two specially assigned public attorneys who were incompetent and ineffective. The two key witnesses who testified at Susan’s trial and did not testify at Jamie’s trial may have swayed his jury. We will never know.
I believe Jamie Snow is innocent of the murder of William Little because he had a solid alibi in his wife’s testimony. No physical evidence has ever linked Jamie to the crime. Jamie was, in fact, cleared of the crime by the original seasoned investigator, Charlie Crowe. It has now been proven that McLean County prosecutors and Bloomington Police conspired to commit multiple offences of official corruption thus denying Jamie his constitutional right to a fair trial. It wasn’t until seven years after the William Little murder, when Detective Dan Katz was running for Sheriff, that the investigation was reopened. Withheld evidence discovered through FOIA requests by Jamie’s supporters has revealed the trail of official corruption in this case. Both eyewitnesses against Jamie, Danny Martinez and Carlos Luna, have been shown to have been false eyewitnesses. Every single witness against Jamie Snow has been shown to have received a deal, been threatened in some way or has been shown to have a motive to testify falsely against Jamie for their own benefit. Jamie was convicted in the court of public opinion long before his trial. The Bloomington rumor mill, consisting of several local bars and several groups of acquaintances consisting of dozens of people helped spread the false words of essentially two people: Ed Palumbo and Travis Gaddis. And of course, the Bloomington Police Department.
There has been some movement in the courts which I believe will impact favorably Jamie’s next post-conviction appeal. A Schuylar County judge has ruled that nearly 8000 pages of previously undisclosed evidence be turned over to himself and his attorneys at the Exoneration Project. Already known through FOIA requests and contained in these withheld documents are the pieces of evidence which show multiple instances of official corruption and are what I believe will ultimately grant Jamie Snow relief and a new trial for a crime which he did not commit. 70 individual withheld video and audio tapes have also been forced by a judge to be turned over to Jamie.
With no credible evidence against Jamie and a mountain of evidence showing the lengths that the Bloomington Police Department and McLean County Prosecutors Office under Charles Reynard would go to get a conviction at any cost, I believe Jamie Snow is innocent of murder and was railroaded for a crime he didn’t commit. That’s what I believe. It’s what the recently revealed withheld evidence shows. Not Guilty.
