New focus on deaths of two Mich. hunters

By Ed White Associated Press DETROIT (AP) - Lawyers for a man convicted of fatally shooting two hunters in 1990 asked a western Michigan judge Tuesday to reopen the case, saying critical evidence that would have helped the defense never surfaced at trial 12 years later. The Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan's law school is representing Jeff Titus, who is serving a life sentence for the deaths of Doug Estes and Jim Bennett. They were shot while in the Fulton State Game Area, which was adjacent to Titus' property in Kalamazoo County. There were no witnesses to the shooting, but trial witnesses said he had a history of aggressively confronting people who entered his land. Titus, now 62, wasn't charged until 2001. "Mr. Titus is innocent and this court should grant him a new trial," the clinic, led by David Moran, said in a court filing. "Mr. Titus' conviction followed a trial in which the jury was only presented with part of the story - a trial in which crucial witnesses were never called, unreliable evidence was never questioned, and exculpatory evidence was never presented," lawyers said. Two sheriff's department detectives who interviewed Titus and others believed his alibi that he was hunting about 30 miles away at the time of the shootings. But the investigators were never called as witnesses at trial, the Innocence Clinic said. "It would have been particularly compelling given the lack of physical evidence connecting Mr. Titus to the crime," his lawyers said. County Prosecutor Jeff Getting, who wasn't in office when Titus went to trial in 2002, declined to comment. "It's a lengthy pleading. ... My office will be reviewing it in its entirety and will reply if ordered to by the court," Getting said. At trial, prosecutors acknowledged that Titus was hunting miles away near Battle Creek but claimed he drove home and killed Estes and Bennett. Titus' trial attorney, William Fette, couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the bid to reopen the case. He was stripped of his law license in 2011 in an unrelated matter. The Innocence Clinic takes cases when it believes someone has been convicted based on false confessions, bad evidence, poor defense work or misconduct by prosecutors. Published: Thu, Aug 21, 2014