Widow blasts Oakland prosecutors’ handling of murder retrial

By Kara Berg, MediaNews Group

The widow of a person killed in Farmington Hills in 2010 and her legal professional say the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Workplace is neglecting its duties within the retrial of the person convicted of killing her husband.

Genniver Jameel, Saif Jameel’s widow, mentioned she is pissed off with what she sees as corruption within the prosecutor’s workplace and that the courtroom maneuvers are depriving her of the justice her household acquired in 2011 when Hayes Bacall was sentenced to life in jail for the first-degree homicide of her husband. Bacall is being retried for the homicide of Saif Jameel after the Court docket of Attraction overturned his conviction in April.

“We stay via hell every single day – we mourn Saif whereas combating a system that appears decided to silence us,” Jameel instructed The Detroit Information in a press release. “As a substitute of discovering help and accountability via the justice system, we’ve got suffered betrayal and corruption that has solely exacerbated our struggling.”

Hayes Bacall was sentenced to life in jail with out parole in 2011 for the July 2010 homicide of his cousin Saif Jameel. Prosecutors say Bacall walked into Jameel’s fuel station and shot him 12 instances. He later instructed police that he killed Jameel as a result of Jameel owed him $400,000.

The Oakland County Conviction Integrity Unit reviewed the case in 2022 and decided that prosecutorial misconduct associated to lies the prosecutor instructed throughout closing arguments, in addition to witnesses recanting their testimony, resulted in a weak conviction.

Prosecutors and Bacall’s attorneys agreed to maneuver ahead with a first-degree homicide cost as an alternative of the unique first-degree homicide cost in 2023, however new proof has surfaced, as soon as once more interrupting justice for Saif Jameel.

Prosecutors obtained recordings in Could and July of two cellphone conversations that one of many recanting witnesses, Samir Bacall, Saif’s youthful brother, had along with his aunt. Within the cellphone calls, Samir implies that he lied throughout his recantation and that he was truthful in his unique testimony. He expresses a need to take revenge on Genniver Jameel as a result of she allegedly owes him cash.

Though prosecutors transcribed the translations of the calls in time to incorporate them of their response to Hayes Bacall’s movement to dismiss the first-degree homicide cost, prosecutors didn’t point out them till a number of days after Oakland County Circuit Court docket Decide Mary Ellen Brennan granted Hayes Bacall’s movement on October 15 and dismissed the first-degree homicide cost. Assistant U.S. Legal professional David Williams mentioned Brennan was conscious of the paperwork from off-the-record conversations however that they weren’t launched to affect her choice on the first-degree homicide cost.

The primary point out of Samir’s statements got here in a movement for reconsideration of Brennan’s choice filed after 5 p.m. on Oct. 20, the day earlier than Bacall was scheduled to plead responsible to second-degree homicide. The recordings forged doubt on the validity of Samir’s recantation and his motives for his unique testimony at trial, Assistant U.S. Legal professional Shelbee Sanborn wrote within the movement for reconsideration.

Brennan mentioned the late submitting was “gorgeous” and mentioned: “I’ve by no means seen something prefer it.”

Sanborn instructed Brennan throughout an Oct. 21 listening to that she needed to work “in a short time” to get this movement filed and did in order shortly as doable, however didn’t say why the knowledge was not included in her response to Bacall’s movement to dismiss the first-degree homicide cost. Prosecutors filed the movement after The Information inquired Oct. 16 in regards to the recordings and why they weren’t introduced up.

Sanborn wrote in her movement that she didn’t have an opportunity on Oct. 15 to inform Brennan in regards to the new proof, together with the recordings and one other witness who might testify to premeditation. Sanborn asks Brennan to rethink her ruling dismissing the first-degree homicide cost towards Bacall.

“The existence of the calls was by no means a secret. They had been disclosed to the protection and we knowledgeable the court docket of their existence,” mentioned lead prosecutor David Williams. “We believed that the cellphone calls weren’t related to the denial movement and due to this fact didn’t embrace them in our response.”

Genniver Jameel’s legal professional, Pam Szydlak, mentioned the prosecutor’s conduct is “downright alarming.”

Jameel and Szydlak mentioned Sanborn instructed them she would battle to maintain the first-degree homicide cost, and that she would point out the recordings in her response and in the course of the listening to on Bacall’s movement to dismiss the first-degree homicide cost. Sanborn, nevertheless, made no point out of it and solely argued in her written response that prosecutors weren’t prohibited from pursuing the first-degree case.

“The individuals got a full and truthful alternative to defend themselves towards this movement, however they failed to take action in a significant or competent method — whereas pretending to battle it,” Szydlak mentioned. “Quite than cope with actual authorized points and Samir Bacall’s transcripts saying he lied in his recantation, they as an alternative provided obscure assertions, unsupported rhetoric, and outright neglect of their responsibility to the court docket and the pursuits of justice.”

Williams mentioned nobody has denied that Hayes Bacall shot and killed Saif Jameel, and that prosecutors have continued to battle to carry him accountable for his actions. Prosecutors are actually in search of to have Bacall retried for first-degree homicide.

“These recordings are hooked up to our movement for reconsideration, and the choose has agreed to think about them,” Williams mentioned in a press release. “The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Workplace has carried out a clear and thorough evaluate of the case towards Hayes Bacall within the demise of Saif Jameel.”

Samir Bacall, Saif’s youthful brother, initially testified that Hayes Bacall known as him a number of instances within the months earlier than the taking pictures and mentioned he was going to kill Saif due to the cash he owed him. Slieman Bashi, Samir and Jameel’s shut pal, mentioned in 2022 that they lied about these statements in the course of the trial, which was one of many causes prosecutors determined to reopen the case and attempt to overturn Bacall’s conviction.

Within the recorded dialog, Samir instructed his aunt, “She did me unsuitable,” about Genniver.

“Sure, however you aren’t going to hunt revenge on her by altering your testimony,” the aunt mentioned, in keeping with a translated transcript of the cellphone name.

Samir primarily talks about in search of revenge on Genniver, as he says she sought revenge on him and took his cash, but additionally mentioned, “I did not testify falsely, no, I did not lie… Geniver Geniver (sic) is the one who testified falsely, not me.”

Bacall’s legal professional, Mark Krieger, mentioned throughout an Oct. 21 listening to that he believed the recording adjustments nothing and that Brennan shouldn’t change her ruling on the first-degree homicide cost. He mentioned Bacall was ready to plead responsible to second-degree homicide that day. Krieger didn’t return requires remark.

Brennan will challenge a written ruling on Sanborn’s movement for reconsideration. Bacall’s subsequent court docket date is December 4.