Panel Rejects Sifrit’s Latest Appeal

Written by

Shawn J. Soper

OCEAN CITY -- Convicted killer Benjamin Sifrit, who, along with his wife Erika, brutally murdered and dismembered a Virginia couple vacationing in Ocean City in 2002, had his latest bid for a new trial rejected last week.

After exhausting an initial appeal process based on the claim his defense counsel was ineffective during his 2003 trial, Benjamin Sifrit embarked on a different tack in an attempt to get his conviction reversed and gain a new trial when he filed a petition in the Maryland Court of Appeals in 2008 arguing the prosecution team, led by then Worcester County State’s Attorney Joel Todd, used inconsistent theories of the events surrounding the crimes to gain the convictions of both he and his wife, Erika.

When Maryland’s highest court denied the petition, Sifrit last November filed a petition in U.S. District Court for a writ of habeas corpus against the Maryland Attorney General and the warden of the facility where he is serving a 38-year sentence, essentially arguing he is being held illegally and should be given a new trial because prosecutors presented inconsistent theories against he and his wife during their separate trials in 2003.

“This is a case where the issue presented has not been squarely addressed,” Sifrit wrote in his appeal. “It is an unusual situation because the facts concerning the claim have not been applied to the petitioner’s case. Benjamin Sifrit was denied due process of law and the right to a fair trial because the state used inconsistent factual theories to obtain convictions against both Benjamin and Erika Sifrit.”

A three-judge U.S. District Court panel agreed Benjamin Sifrit’s due process was not denied during his trial and denied his application for a certificate of appealability, which would have opened the door for a new trial had it been granted.


“When the district court denies relief on the merits, a prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims is debatable or wrong,” the order reads. “We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Sifrit has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability, deny Sifrit’s request for appointment of counsel and dismiss the appeal.”

The federal court judges denied the appeal outright without any further testimony.

“We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aide the decisional process,” the order reads.

Source;  http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/articles/2011/07/15/Top-Stories/Panel-Rejects-Sifrits-Latest-Appeal

Ben Sifrit Denied Latest Appeal By Federal Judge

OCEAN CITY – Convicted killer Benjamin Sifrit, who, along with his wife Erika, brutally murdered a Virginia couple vacationing in Ocean City on Memorial Day weekend in 2002, this week had his latest attempt at an appeal shot down by a federal court judge.

After U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett struck down Sifrit’s bid for a new trial in late October, the convicted killer embarked on a new path, filing an appeal last week with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District, using the same basic argument as his earlier attempts.

Throughout the lengthy appeal process, Sifrit has argued he was denied his right to due process because prosecutors presented inconsistent theories against he and his wife during their separate trials in 2003. Essentially, Sifrit argued prosecutors used slightly different versions of the same facts during the two trials in order to get convictions for both defendants.

After his latest appeal was denied on Oct. 21 at the U.S. District Court level, Sifrit quickly filed an appeal for relief from the higher U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing the same basic premise.

However, Judge Bennett this week issued an order denying Sifrit the “certificate of appealability” needed to move forward with his appeal to the higher court.

“A habeas petitioner has no absolute entitlement to appeal a district court’s denial of his motion,” the judge’s order reads. “A certificate of appealability may issue only if the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. A petitioner must demonstrate that reasonable jurists would find the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong.”

In his order, Bennett said Sifrit had not met the requirements for the court to issue the certificate. However, he did not entirely close the door on any future appeal.

“This court will not issue a certificate of appealability because Sifrit has not made the requisite showing,” the judge’s order reads. “Denial of a certificate of appealability does not prevent Sifrit from seeking a certificate of appealability from the appellant court.”

In April 2003, Benjamin Sifrit was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and accessory after the fact for his part in the killing of Martha Crutchley in an Ocean City condominium on Memorial Day weekend in 2002 and was sentenced to 38 years in jail. His wife, Erika, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Joshua Ford, and second-degree murder in the death of Crutchley in a separate trial in Frederick, Md. that same year and was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.
By: Shawn J. Shoper
www.mdcoastdispatch.com