Man granted new trial in 1994 murder case maintains his innocence

Elwood Jones was sentenced to death for the 1994 murder of Rhoda Nathan, but maintains his innocence as he and his attorneys prepare for the possibility of a new trial. In December, Judge Wende C. Cross of the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court ruled that evidence withheld from defense attorneys during his first trial in 1996 was significant and should have been presented to the jury that found Elwood Jones guilty for the murder. Jones was sentenced to death in 1997. For the last 27 years, he has insisted he had nothing to do with Nathan's murder. Jones was granted bond and released from the Hamilton County Justice Center on January 14 after almost three decades in jail. At a press conference on Tuesday, Jones spoke out publicly for the first time since he was granted a new trial.