His trial scheduled for next August could never have taken place. Thanks to a crazy typo, Amarion Sanders was released from prison of Cuyahoga County. This 22-year-old young man was arrested in Ohio after the murder of Derek Driskill in September 2023. Imprisoned while awaiting trial, he was able to regain his freedom due to “from a typographical error”as a judge announced in an official decision.
In the facts, a clerk confused his file number with that of another detaineeu. The defendant who was supposed to be released in his place, Antonio Seymore, was being held on assault and robbery charges. A judge had released him from jail after witnesses failed to show up for his trial at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse. Except instead of dismissing Case 685909, the clerk took over Case 685908, that of Amarion Sanders…
“In this case, criminal cases with consecutive numbers were randomly assigned to the same judge at arraignment, which is rare with 34 judges sitting, the pleas court said.
We deeply regret this error.” Prison officials said they also didn’t realize there was a problem with Amarion Sanders’ release order.
Amarion Sanders was arrested again
“Cases are being closed, defendants are being released every day. There was no reason to question this.”said Deputy Director Kevin O’Donnell. It wasn’t until days later that the justice system realized the misunderstanding. A manhunt was then quickly launched to find Amarion Sanders. And he was arrested again in Cleveland.
This crazy story greatly worries the family of the man who was killed, who now fear for their safety. “It’s not fair. There are so many people who are imprisoned for crimes they may not even have committed, but when someone is caught on camera doing something, how can- it come out by mistake?”reacted Andrea Johnson, the wife of Derek Driskill.
“He is no longer a threat”
In September 2013, Derek Driskill was killed in an argument following a collision in the parking lot of a takeaway restaurant. A car rear-ended his Mercedes Benz. Although the driver was cooperative, a passenger inside the vehicle began arguing with Derek Driskill and injured him. shot in the head before fleeing. Amarion Sanders was arrested for this crime.
Released and then rearrested, he was locked up in the Cuyahoga County jail. He will remain there at least until his trial, scheduled for August 18. “He is no longer a threat and has never been a threat to society”the acting head of corrections said. Court and prison officials say they will now do everything they can to ensure that such a situation does not happen again.
