CLEVELAND — Prosecutors say an Ohio man convicted in a 1995 slaying has been charged with bribery for asking witnesses to recant years later while promising them money from wrongful imprisonment payments he’d receive after his prison release.
The Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh) County Prosecutor’s Office says a grand jury on Wednesday indicted 52-year-old Timothy Simms on two bribery counts.
Simms is serving a life sentence in state prison for 34-year-old Milton Whitlow’s slaying during a birthday party in Cleveland. Simms was eligible for parole in December 2020.
Prosecutors say Simms wrote letters last year to witnesses of the shooting and their families asking them to sign affidavits he’d prepared to help get him out of prison. The letters were given to Cleveland police.
Court records don’t indicate whether Simms has an attorney.
