Why Judge John P. O'Donnell -- Running for a seat on the "Ohio State Supreme Court" -- found Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo "not guilty" of shooting 15 rounds after jumping on top of a 1979 Chevy Malibu with unarmed Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams inside (137 Police Rounds Total) killing Mr. Russell and Ms. Williams

Story by Cleveland.com
Written by Ida Lieszkovszky, Northeast Ohio Media Group

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo jumped on top of a 1979 Chevy Malibu with Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams inside. The car was wedged between two police cars. Thirteen police officers had already shot the pair more than 100 times. And then Brelo fired 15 more shots straight down at them through the Malibu's windshield.


The bullet-riddled windshield of Timothy Russell's car shows where some of the 137 bullets fired at the car police fired at the car landed. (Marvin Fong/The Plain Dealer)

Given all that, many Clevelanders were hoping for, if not expecting, guilty verdicts on two counts of voluntary manslaughter for Brelo.

But Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell ruled that Brelo is not guilty of either count of voluntary manslaughter, nor is he guilty of the lesser included offense of felonious assault. http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2015/05/brelo_verdict.html#incart_maj-story-1 While some protesters took to the streets of Cleveland, Brelo cried tears of relief in the courtroom.

So how, exactly, did O'Donnell arrive at his conclusion?

It took him nearly an hour to meticulously explain his reasoning before a courtroom packed with the supporters of Brelo on one side, and the friends and family of Russell and Williams on the other.

He also released his 34-page verdict, which you can read for yourself below.

Here are the main points O'Donnell made when announcing his decision. Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2015/05/why_the_judge_found_cleveland.html

On Tuesday, November 8th. 2016, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell is running for a seat on the "Ohio State Supreme Court" against today's opposition winner: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/03/12/a-look-who-is-running-in-the-contested-ohio-supreme-court-primary.html