Mark Fisher murder: Another perspective on John Giuca by Marley Davis

This is the post I (Bonnie, blog owner) made:
Mark Fisher murder 10/12/2003 Brooklyn, NY *John Giuca and Antonio Russo convicted of his murder; sentenced to 25 years to life in prison*

***For the record, I have read more on this case since I posted it back in April. Closer review of the case shows that things do not add up. I have not seen the evidence or read everything, but I am disturbed by it enough to believe that John at the very least deserves a new, FAIR trial. I find it horrendous that a prejudice man was allowed on the jury. One who made up his mind BEFORE the trial even started. Video of juror (embedded below also) That is unconstitutional, to say the least. I urge each of you to read everything on this case. John Giuca’s appeal is on the judge’s desk now and will be ruled on at the beginning of September. I will be sending the judge a letter urging him to grant the appeal for a new, fair trial, if there is really even enough evidence to show him guilty. I don’t think there is. More and more I am leaning towards innocence of John Guica (but not Antonio Russo – I do believe he is guilty). Yes, innocent people get convicted, and that should always be investigated. And as we all know, “everyone” in prison is innocent! Well, sometimes they are. Most are right where they belong, however. In this case, more investigation needs to be done. And no matter what, a new trial with fair and impartial jurors. Our Constitution GUARANTEES that. John Guica did not get that. I will be adding a copy of my letter to the judge on here in the next day or so and all are welcome to use it. Also, Marley has offered to collect the letters and send them to the judge to show support for the new trial. So, if you want to send a letter, either copy the one below (after the video) or write your own. Send them to: johnnyjusticeauthor@gmail.com ***

My name is Marley Davis. I, like most of you, have a passion and a deep interest in crime. I went to school for criminal justice and psychology, and have interned/worked for multiple law enforcement agencies. In my spare time, I basically watch Investigation Discovery. I love every show on that channel. But, when I watched a show about the murder of Mark Fisher, something changed for me. Maybe it was because the show was supposed to be about a gang initiation that went awry. Maybe it was because I expected to find, as one usually does by the end of these types of shows, a clear connection between crime, perpetrator, and victim. But this particular time, with the murder of Mark Fisher, and the case of John Giuca, I found that wasn’t the case. I was confused- I felt like I had missed something. So, I watched it again. And this time I realized, I hadn’t missed a thing. It just wasn’t there. I felt like I was watching the Swiss cheese channel- a show full of holes. And it was unsettling.

This was the first time I had ever heard the name John Giuca. It certainly wouldn’t be the last. What would start as an inquiry has quickly become a mission. I currently find myself gazing into pandora’s box in a quest to find the truth, a quest that has opened my eyes to a world of injustice, and has changed my life.

So about this show..

First of all, there was no gang initiation at all. According to the prosecutor, the crime was perpetrated by two men who were already members of this gang. The only new member of this situation was the murder victim. So, who exactly was being initiated?

You may say, “OK, who cares? The fact is that there was a murder committed by gang members.”  But who exactly was in this gang? Well, I did a little research, and spoke to the other men who were labeled in court as members of this gang. What I found was a group of guys who used to barbeque together, play basketball together and watch Knicks games together. Men that grew up together, who went on to college, get good jobs, get married, and some even have children. They aren’t now, nor were they ever gangsters- they are productive, honorable members of society and they resent the fact that they were ever labeled as anything else.

Then, the show implies that the murder was over a girl. Then it says it was a robbery gone wrong because at some point the victim went to the ATM- and got out $20.00. Plus, he went back to the party for a few hours. So, which is it? Was this a gang initiation of no one? A robbery for $20 (that’s $10 a piece, mind you, if two people are conspiring to commit this crime)? Jealousy? By now, my head was spinning. I thought it was weird that no clear motive was being established- and I felt like the show focused far too much on giving background on the people involved (by people, I mean John Giuca; I heard hardly anything about Antonio Russo at all, even though he was the alleged gunman) and not on the crime itself. I was only hoping that by the end, it would all make sense. This, unfortunately, turned out to be a pipe dream.

So, I started looking into the case more, and what I found was astonishing. The show also suggested that the host of this party, John Giuca, was upset because the victim sat on a table (motive number four), however trial documents suggest that it was another party goer, not John, that told him to move. Finally, one of the prosecutors (whose name I recognized as one of the prosecutors involved in the wrongful conviction of Jabbar Collins) says that Mark had no idea where he was going when he was murdered. Well, a quick Google search suggests that wasn’t the case. In fact, Mark was murdered about 50 feet from another boy, Albert Cleary’s, house- the house where his friend from school had spent the night, and likely his intended destination.

By now, I had had enough. You just don’t find this many unanswered questions for no reason. All I knew for sure is that John Giuca had a party- a party planned because multiple people were stranded in Manhattan and would have otherwise had nowhere else to go.

The show also states that John was involved in a crime with a gun not long before this murder took place. I pulled those records, as most of you can too. There was nothing to substantiate John’s involvement in that situation either (a fact the show does point out, if only fleetingly). In fact, the police didn’t even investigate it because when they got to the scene, they found absolutely nothing to investigate. The police talked to John, found out it was nothing, and let him go. Case closed.

John was only arrested for that incident almost a year after Mark Fisher’s murder. On top of that, he wasn’t even told why he was arrested; when he asked the police- oh, I mean the “dirty tactics squad,” as they affectionately refer to themselves- the police would only say “a warrant.” Some of those officers, who took a trip down to Florida to arrest him, even admitted that this was an attempt to confuse him, scare him, and a ploy to gain information on the murder. I would even go so far as to assert that they also needed to establish a criminal history- a gangster with a clean record? Now that just won’t do.

Upon further research, I found other facts about this case rather compelling. For one, in the trial against John, the prosecutors “star witness,” Albert Cleary, lied multiple times to police, changed his story from grand jury to trial jury, and was one year into a five year probation sentence for beating a man’s head in at a bar not long before this (Mark Fisher was also badly beaten in a similar fashion).

In addition, Albert took a polygraph test not long after the murder. The questions were 1) do you know anything about the murder and 2) are you hiding anything from police? He said no to both questions, and he passed. How then, could he somehow be the “star witness” to this crime? You can draw one of two conclusions from this- either this kid lied under oath, or he is a good enough liar to fake a polygraph test. Either way, not such a credible witness. Cleary- Table Reference Proof

The other witness against John, a jailhouse informant, said he heard John’s father ask him about the crime. However, John’s father had a stroke about a year before and could not speak. Never happened.

But what most astounded me about this show is that it completely fails to mention one of the most important facts of this whole case- the fact that one of John’s jurors had known of John, knew people on the witness list, failed to disclose any of this during voir dire, AND had reason not to. What was his reason? Well, listen to the video and hear for yourself.

But I’ll summarize it for you. Basically, this juror told John’s mother (unbeknownst to him) that “then he found out that kid was a Jew”, and that he wanted to convicted because, and I quote “I hate Jews” and “I’m prejudice.”

Whether you feel that John is guilty or innocent, there is one thing that no one can really deny, and that is this: when a juror is given a witness list, asked whether he knows anyone on it, and says “no” even though he does, and does this knowingly and purposefully, that is juror misconduct. There is really no way of getting around this fact- he even says “by law, I knew I shouldn’t have been on that jury“. When they read you a list of witnesses, you are supposed to tell them if you know somebody on it.” And he then goes on to explain how he knew the people on that list. At the very least, an inquiry into this jurors actions and his affect on the decision of the others should have been conducted. And yet, nothing.

If a juror fails to disclose or misrepresents potentially important information during jury selection, the party moving for a new trial must show:

the juror concealed material information during voir dire;
the moving party exercised due diligence during voir dire to uncover the information; and
the juror demonstrated actual bias or bias implied as a matter of law that prejudiced the moving party.

State v. Maske, 358 N.C. 40 (2004). If the party meets this burden, the trial judge must grant the motion. (NCIDS.org).

If you are wondering what happened when this juror misconduct was uncovered- I’ll tell you. In true “Brooklyn Justice” fashion (Google Charles Hynes and read any of the recent articles about him, or Jabbar Collins for that matter, and you’ll see what I mean), John’s appeal wasn’t even looked at. Instead, the judge who oversaw it held a press conference to chastise John’s mother- even though what she did was 110% legal. As of yet, all of John’s appeals have been denied.

I implore you to please take a closer look at the case against John. In doing my research, I have gone to jail and spoken to him multiple times. The John Giuca I have met is nothing like the John Giuca the media portrayed. When I first saw him, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why he was so different than I expected. Sure, after eight years he has aged slightly; his hair was a bit longer. But that wasn’t it. It wasn’t until after I got home that I realized why John surprised me so. It is because the pictures that have circulated of him over the years show a John Giuca that is menacing, scary even. A man with cold, dead eyes and a constant look of disdain. The gang leader with no regard for human life.

The John Giuca I now know is none of those things. He is kind, appreciative, and answers my questions without hesitation. The letters I have received from him are insightful, intelligent, and eloquent.

Ask yourself a question- most of you have taught your children to be kind to everyone you meet, right? No matter what their background, race, religion, etc. You want your children to be accepting of all people, as my mother taught me and as I plan to teach my children. But what do you do when, because of this, the newspapers say you “hang out with the wrong crowd.” It’s not so much of a leap, is it? But the interesting thing is, knowing that this trait of his played such a large role in his conviction, he refuses to stop being so accepting and kind to others. Even in jail, which he told me is quite segregated, he knows and acts no different.

Before I watched this show, I was not a friend of John’s, nor did I have any connection to Brooklyn. I am just a person who knows when I am being fooled. The more I dug into this case, the more I became convinced of John’s innocence. In the three hours I spent with John on that first day at Green Haven, he went from an abstract figure from the ghost of news reports past to someone I regard quite highly; someone whose safety I now fear for, and for whose freedom I now fight.

There is far more to this case then can be written in a single blog entry, which is why I am currently in the process, with Doreen and John’s assistance, of writing the official book about this case. But Bonnie has so graciously allowed me to include the other side of this compelling and complex case on her site.

I know there are plenty of people out there who have a specific opinion and no amount of information (or dare I say it, logic), will convince them otherwise. That is fine-I can accept that. But for those of you with an open mind who are willing to look at this from a different perspective, I urge you to please look into this case. Or, at the very least, buy my book when it hits stands next year :).

My goal is not to sling any mud, but it is far more likely that two other people were involved in this crime. If you don’t believe me, would you believe Michael Fisher, the father of the murder victim? Below is a quote from the New York Times from October 20, 2005:

I think there’s still a guy and a girl involved in this killing,” Mr. Fisher said outside the courtroom. “Until they’re brought to justice, our family’s not going to have closure.”

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me. I have found that, with every single question I have ever had about his case, there has been a logical answer to it. Ever single time.

Read these links:

Mother Justice
The John Giuca Case
Hynes Wins a Fiercely Contested Primary Race for District Attorney
Citing Misconduct, Lawyer Seeks Review of Conviction in ’03 Brooklyn Killing
Petition Seeking to Void Brooklyn Murder Conviction Calls Verdict a ‘Sham’

VIDEO OF THE JUROR ADMITTING MISCONDUCT

SAMPLE LETTER TO JUDGE FREDERIC BLOCK TO GET A NEW FAIR TRIAL FOR JOHN GIUCA:

The Honorable Judge Frederic Block
Brooklyn, NY 11201
August 11, 2012

Honorable Judge Frederic Block:

I am writing this letter today about John Giuca and his appeal. John Giuca was convicted of the 2003 murder of Mark Fisher, as was Antonio Russo, the shooter. There have been numerous theories and scenarios about this murder, but thus far, it seems that the “facts” do not completely add up in this case. Several witnesses lied and/or gave several different stories about the night in question.
One thing I should say up front is that I have no personal attachment to this case. I have read information on this case that comes from court records, news articles, etc. Convicting the wrong person(s) or unfairly gaining convictions is NOT justice. Sometimes in the zeal for justice, integrity and ethics can be shoved aside, just to “have someone, anyone” pay the price. This is not what the Forefathers of our Country wanted when they wrote the Constitution.
Having said this, after reading several things on this case, I do not believe that John Giuca received a fair trial. One glaring issue is the misconduct of juror Jason Allo. He was videotaped admitting perjury in this case. (This video is easily found on YouTube and there is a link on one of my blog posts) He deliberately made sure he got on this jury to convict Mr. Giuca, since he believed Mr. Giuca was Jewish. It should not matter how the video was done, since it was not done illegally. He was not coerced, either by police or by Doreen Giuliano, Mr. Giuca’s mother. He said it free and clear, even laughing about what he had done. This is a disgrace to a fair trial. In my opinion, this is not a minute detail that did not matter. It is a mockery of justice. I believe that for that fact alone, besides the other inconsistencies, John Giuca deserves a new trial. I also believe that Mr. Allo deserves to be charged with perjury or obstructing justice for his deception.
Thank you for your time.

Name: ___________________________________ Date:______________________
Address:_____________________________________________________________
City:_______________________________________State:________Zip:__________