Jeffrey T. Deel v. Arnold R. Jago

MERRITT, Chief Judge.

In 1985 an Ohio jury convicted the defendant, Jeffrey T. Deel, of murdering a ten-year-old child. Jeff Deel was fifteen years old at the time of the crime. There were no eyewitnesses to the murder. No motive for the killing was, or has been, deduced. And Deel steadfastly maintains that he is innocent. Deel was sentenced to fifteen years to life imprisonment. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by Ohio state courts. His petition for habeas corpus relief was denied by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Deel now appeals…