Second Trial Continues for Clevelander Who Is Accused of Killing Mentor Man

The second trial of Walter Triplett Jr., who is accused of causing Mentor man Michael Corrado's death, continues this week in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Triplett, 30, of Cleveland, and Corrado did not know each other before an evening out for both of them turned fatal.

On April 30, 2009, both men were outside of the Barley House in Cleveland. A fight had broken out, which caused several people to be kicked out of the bar. The fight rekindled outside.

Triplett's sister, Walttonya, was trying to break up the fracas when a man threw a punch at her. Walter Triplett swung at Corrado, who he thought threw the punch. However, prosecutors say that Corrado was an innocent bystander.

Triplett's punch landed, knocking Corrado backward. Corrado, who was 22 at the time, fell and hit his head on the pavement. He never regained consciousness and died 18 hours later.

Triplett was charged with felonious assault and involuntary manslaughter. However, he argued that he was trying to protect his sister.

The jury convicted Triplett of felonious assault but was hung on the charge of involuntary manslaughter. The judge convicted him to the maximum possible penalty -- 18 years in prison, eight for the assault and 10 because he qualified as a repeat violent offender.

Triplett had previously been conviced of robbery and felonious assault with a gun.

However, earlier this year, the Eighth Appellate District of Ohio said that Triplett deserved a new trial.

The appeals court said the trial judge, Shirley Strickland Saffold, made two mistakes that called for a new trial.

First, Saffold combined the legal description of self-defense and defense of another during the jury's instructions. This is a problem because Triplett never said he was defending himself, just his sister, the court said.

Furthermore, the judge also should have instructed the jury as per the use of nondeadly force, the appeals court said. Saffold did not do that because Corrado died from the injuries he received; so, she reasoned, the force Corrado used was not nondeadly.

The appeals court disagreed.

"The ultimate result of death is not the proper focal point when determining whether to instruct on nondeadly force..." the court wrote in its decision. "We do not agree that one punch, even when a death occurs, is comparable to deadly force."

As a result of the appeals court's decision, Triplett received a new trial that began Oct. 11. Saffold is once again the presiding judge.

The appeals court's decision regarding Triplett is attached to this story as a PDF.