Johnston v. State (Slip Opinion)

{¶ 1} The issue presented on this appeal is whether Dale Johnston can prosecute a second claim for wrongful imprisonment based on the 2003 amendment to R.C. 2743.48.

{¶ 2} The undisputed facts reveal that a panel of three judges found Johnston guilty of two counts of aggravated murder involving the deaths of his stepdaughter, Margaret Annette Cooper, a.k.a. Margaret Annette Johnston, and her fiancé, Todd Schultz, whose dismembered torsos were found in the Hocking River and whose arms, legs, and heads were buried in a cornfield adjacent to the river. The court sentenced Johnston to death on…