Serendipity

A truck similar to the type Shawn loved to build and paint Infidelity/Betrayal/Murder...Families torn apart. Is the right man spending life in prison...or...did the real killer flea to Costa Rica with a new wife and start a new life? No! This is not the next James Patterson or John Grisham novel, nor is it a Hollywood blockbuster! This is a true story about my son Shawn Campbell whom was convicted in 2005 for murder in the second degree and is currently serving 25 years to life in a maximum security prison in upstate New York. Please take a few minutes of your time to read this story. September 27, 2004, was a day that changed a lot of lives and a day that rocked the small town of Bath, NY. A woman by the name of Rhonda Bilby was murdered that morning. On the morning of September 29, 2004, my son Shawn received a call from Senior BCI Investigator Ricky Kemp asking him to come into the Bath State Police Barracks because they had some questions about  the “Bilbys”....

I'd like to let everyone know that Sabrina Leavens has been found alive and well. I know little else other than she said on her FB page that she just needed some time to herself. Thank you all!  I normally don't do this but I have known this young lady a long time and she's a long time friend to my son, Shawn (Campbell). She is a wife and mother... Please share far and wide...she's been missing for too long.  Thank you!

(**Previously published 5/9/11**) As I have mentioned in my previous post, my son, Shawn Campbell, is struggling to find  justice  in a case that some have called a 'slam dunk'.  He was railroaded into  pleading guilty  for a crime he did not commit, and has proof that the county District Attorney's office had been forewarned of a 'murder to hire plot' that was going around Wende Correctional Facility at in weeks prior to Rhonda Bilby's murder. He is back in court today, and I will have the details as they become available to me.  As well, I will post each section of the interview as they are aired.                              

Imbalance in the scales of justice It came as no surprise when Friday, we learned that Judge Latham denied Shawn's request for a new trial. As I had stated in an earlier blog, there are those of us that really believe that he had decided how he would rule on this as far back as May of last year...but it was even more evident the last day of the court hearing that I attended, as the judge seem short tempered and even bored with the whole issue. No was contacted prior to the news report that aired Friday night on our local news (but was posted on Facebook by Shawn's cousin--which is how I found out!), so imagine our shock! I talked to Shawn Sunday (yesterday) morning and he had no idea that the judge had ruled on his case until I told him.  Was he surprised at the denial?  No. He is anticipating getting his copy of the denial in the next few days from his attorney, so that he can move forward and get his Appellate lawyer working on this at the next level. Because as...

Today, I was at the court hearing of Shawn's that was supposed to be the process of showing that his previous lawyer Bill Kelly was not only ineffective counsel but also that he did not ever once, make Shawn aware of the two letters (from inmate incarcerated at the prison at that time) which were sent to the District Attorney's office forewarning of a "murder for hire" plot that was going around Wende Correctional Facility prior to the murder of Rhonda Bilby in September of 2004. I am sorry to say that the whole morning seemed to be a waste of time for everyone and that very little was accomplished in Shawn's favor.  I'll explain why... The first witness called by Shawn's lawyer, Mr. Baxter, was Christopher Lian, an officer with the Steuben County Jail, where Shawn was housed for some time before his case went to trial. The focus of the line of questioning was that a visitors record is kept as to who comes to see a particular inmate at the jail....

Shawn and I, August 14, 2011 For those of you following my son Shawn Campbell's progress back through the court system, trying to right a wrong, things are happening so very slowly.  As anxious as he is...as anxious as we his family are...to see this pick up momentum, it feels like things are happening slower than a turtle's pace. He now has a new set of lawyers working on his case, Susan Betzjitomir and Terrance Baxter of Bath, NY.  They work as a team and although they are doing their job and what they feel is best for Shawn's case, we can only wish that there was more to be done to move this along. I visited Shawn this past Sunday, August 14th, and he was in good spirits although seemed a bit stressed.  It's not just stress from his case and what his lawyers are or are not doing, but also because he worries about all of his family out here.  I know he misses his life, his children and even being the workaholic that he once was. We talked at length abo...

I have set up a Facebook page for my son, Shawn Campbell, to garner support for finding justice for the injustice he has been served. Please, if you are on Facebook, go to "Team Free Campbell" and "Like" the page...to show your support! Thank you so much!

Right from the beginning, Shawn's arrest and then sentencing has been a hard pill for me to swallow. No mother wishes to see a child in prison, but when it happens...what then? For me, it couldn't have come at a worst time.  I was still deep in the grip of my breakdown, still not able to function mentally and emotionally...and I know that I wept a lot during this time.  I couldn't believe that my son, a big, huggable teddy bear that everyone loved, could do something so terrible.  It just didn't fit. Shawn's case was high profile, this was a big deal in a county that is one of the biggest in New York, and as much as I wanted to be there for my son...I couldn't.  I couldn't make myself go to the court hearings, I didn't want to be seen by the public or in the media...as I said, I was having a very hard time coping. A war raged inside of me then too...unending questions, uncertainties, blaming myself, even though I did my best to bring my son  up righ...

For those of you following Shawn Campbell's Journey to Justice, I am reporting that things have stalled.  At this time, there has been no activity on his case as things get situated with his having a lawyer. He has been extremely stressed because there has been no court date re-set, and there are motions to be filed that need attention.  We all remain hopeful that things will get situated soon...and that as soon as there is anything I can post, I will! Thanks for following!  Oh--if you are on Facebook, please go to "Team Campbell" and hit the 'Like' button to show your support!

Shawn was born July 13, 1977, weighing 4 lbs., 13 oz.  He was a good baby...and we really didn't have many problems with his health through the years. He was the typical all American boy...dirty hands, ripped knees in his jeans, always looking at things with the eyes of a curious child.  He played hard and slept hard! He loved cars and trucks...loved going to stock car races too.  He's always had a fascination with vehicles and how they run...and by the time he was 13-14, he rebuilt a car engine with little help from anyone else!     He honestly never really liked school, although when he applied himself, he received high grades.  In many respects, I think school bored him.     Even as a child, he had a very charismatic personality...he loved people and people loved him! Here...even on a cold day...he had to be outside...looking at rocks and picking up the pretty ones! He's always loved working with his h...

False Confessions In this part of the interview with Shawn Campbell, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Rhonda Bilby in 2005, the question of 'false confession' emerges. The New York Times published an article, Oct 3, 2010 called:    “I Did It”   Why do people confess to crimes they didn’t commit? An expert on the subject, Alan Hirsch (who was mentioned in the news video) has a website:  The Truth About False Confessions where he offers his input into why this happens. There are many mitigating factors that drive people to confess to crimes that they did not commit, and it's certainly worth the effort to take a look at the information I have linked to.  The reality is that it does happen. This is the question I have dealt with since he pleaded guilty:  Why--IF he is innocent? It's so easy to say "Well I wouldn't have pleaded guilty if I was innocent," however...most of us are have not tried those shoes on. (And yes--I have a few seconds...

Shawn Campbell, my son who is in the process of trying to find justice and reverse a murder charge that he did not commit, has asked me to write up this little blog with a request. Anyone interested in writing him for more information about his case, to offer their encouragement, can contact him at:    Shawn Campbell 05B0846 Wende Correctional Facility P. O. Box 1187 Alden, NY 14004-1187   He would love to hear your thoughts and comments ! Thanks!

screen grab of one of the letters sent to the District Attorney It wouldn't be until after the sentencing that Shawn found letters that had been sent to the District Attorney's office of a "murder plot for hire" that had circulated Wende Correctional Facility in the weeks prior to Rhonda Bilby's murder. Here was information that would have been the key to PROVING Shawn's innocence. So why was Shawn never told about them?   These letters were and are key instruments to prove that Shawn had no part in the murder of this woman. In the interview below, the ADA Baker states that Shawn DID know about them and didn't want to pursue the issue as part of his defense.  It's a lie. I remember when Shawn found those letters...he was extremely angry that he hadn't been told about them and I am literally the first person he called when he found them.  He was excited too...this would mean the difference between life in prison or freedom!

Does this look like a murderer? From the beginning, there have always been unanswered questions in Shawn's case...why was he targeted to take the fall...there was no proof of his guilt--and plenty of reasonable doubt --yet here is a county that was driven to convict him at all costs. In 2008, a new set of eyes looked at Shawn's case through eyes that were far removed geographically.  KJ Mullins, a Canadian journalist wrote two stories about Shawn's case that appeared on a website called Digital Journal: A Global Digital Media Network : Murder In A Small Town Op-Ed: When Rumours Swirl Both take a look at the thoughts, the facts as were known then (and now) and asks a lot of important questions . In the years since, nothing has changed except that Shawn has taken a more active role in his case, determining what will be done and how, along with having a lawyer who is willing to pull out the plugs and fight against a county that is Hell bent on keeping the truth burie...

Yesterday, my son, Shawn Campbell...who was labeled as the "Handyman Killer" was in court again...asking for another trial , as well as having an unusual request: that the Assistant D.A. Brooks Baker be called as a witness.   What this means is that IF Mr. Baker is called as a witness, the D.A.'s office will have to be replaced by a special prosecutor!  Go Shawn and Mr. Valley! Again, Shawn's former lawyer, Mr. K. was mentioned...as having coerced Shawn's guilty plea, as well as with-holding important evidence that would have changed the course of the trial. That is likely to be addressed in the weeks to come. Shawn's Aunt Kathy (Overholt) said it all in the video:  "The truth will come out in the end."  

When my son's appeal was granted, he was worried about what kind of lawyer he would be appointed, as he is determined to be very active in his court hearings now, making sure that the attorney who represents  him, does his job well.  This is my son's freedom...he HAS to do something. This is the letter he wrote in search of a new lawyer: Although, he didn't get any volunteers to take his case, J. V. has taken it and has become very adament about setting things to right for my son.    Again...we have hopes and lots of prayers... My name is Shawn Campbell, I am a 33 year old man sitting in an upstate prison for murder I did not commit. I have been here behind these walls for almost 7 years - 7 years I have been fighting to prove my innocence. I have a very unique case, there is no physical evidence linking me to the crime. No blood, hair fibers, DNA, fingerprints, co-defendants, eye-witnesses, and they took foot castings from around the body which did not m...