Samuel Sheppard

American writer and noted family, the son of Dr. Sam and Marilyn Sheppard. When his mom was beaten to death on 7/04/1954, his dad was sent to prison for 12 years before he was exonerated. Young Sam was deprived of both parents in a case that he found massively unjust. Refusing to give up his fight to find his mother's killer and totally clear any suspicion of his dad, his wrote "Mockery of Justice: The True Story of the Sheppard Murder Case," 1996. As a young adult he began to pursue the case himself. He claimed that hard evidence pointed to a window washer who had been at the house the prior week, Richard Eberling. With a court order he had a drop of blood examined and it traced to Eberling with DNA evidence. Police found a ring in Eberling's possession that had belonged to Marilyn Sheppard. At the time of the investigation, Eberling was in prison serving time for the murder of another woman. Before the Sheppard case could be reopened, he died at Ohio State Medical Center on 7/26/1998 of an illness. Ohio State prosecutors in Cleveland had Marilyn Sheppard's body and fetus exhumed 10/05/1999 in an attempt to get clean DNA profiles for the trial brought on by Sam Jr., in hopes of clearing his father completely and declared innocent. He wanted stronger legal exoneration than the not-guilty verdict at the criminal trial in 1966. In 2000, the 52-year-old dental hygienist sued the state of Ohio to have the ten-year imprisonment of his dad declared wrongful. On 4/12/2000 a jury rejected the claim, declaring that Sam Reese Sheppard failed to meet the burden of proof in his wrongful imprisonment civil lawsuit. Sam declared that he will continue his fight to have his father declared innocent. In mourning for 45 years, he seldom wears anything but black and declares that he will be in mourning until his dad's name is cleared. Raised by his dad's brother Steve, a psychiatrist, Sam visited his dad in prison once a month. They remained close until Dr. Sam was released in 1966 when Dr. Sam went his own troubled way. For 18 years after his dad's death, the younger Sam would not discuss the case. His seven-year relationship with a Boston schoolteacher ended in 1980. In 1989, Sam began his crusade, which he turned into a life-mission.