Shareef Cousin

Shareef Cousin (born 1979) is an African-American man from New Orleans who was convicted of the first-degree murder of Michael Gerardi in 1996 and sentenced to death as a juvenile in Louisiana. At age 17, he became the youngest condemned convict to be sent to death row in Louisiana, and one of the youngest in the United States.

Cousin was convicted of Gerardi's murder on the basis of three eyewitnesses. Two identified Cousin as part of a group three black male teenagers involved in the murder. The third witness, Connie Babin, identified Cousin as the triggerman. Cousin allegedly confessed to the murder to his friend, James Rowell, who agreed to become a witness for the prosecution. However, Rowell later claimed that he was coerced to falsely implicate Cousin in exchange for a reduced sentence on other charges. To rebut this claim, the prosecution had three witnesses, including Rowell's lawyer, testify. Rowell's lawyer said that Rowell had privately told him that Cousin had confessed to the murder.

Crime On March 2, 1995, Michael Gerardi took a woman named Connie Babin on their first date to the Port of Call restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans. After dinner, the couple left the restaurant to return to Gerardi's vehicle parked around the corner. Three black teenage males approached the vehicle. Gerardi yelled at his date to run away, which she did. As she was running, she turned around and saw one of the teens shoot Gerardi in the face.

Investigation On March 28, 1995, the police arrested 16-year-old Shareef Cousin, a resident of the city. When the police came to arrest Cousin, he pointed out that they had gotten the date of the murder wrong on his arrest warrant. This would later used be used as evidence against him. A friend of Cousin, James Rowell, who was seeking leniency for charges he faced arising from several robberies, claimed that he had bragged about the murder. Police put Cousin in a line-up and Babin picked him out.

Cousin was suspected of being a part of a group of teenagers who were committing robberies in New Orleans. He was charged with other robberies. In September 1995, he pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

James Rowell was also called to testify against Cousin. Rowell was expected to testify for the prosecution that Cousin had bragged about the murder to him. However, when Rowell took the stand, he denied having the conversation with Cousin and instead told the jury that he was only saying what his attorney and the district attorney told him to say, alleging they threatened him with a long jail sentence if he didn't give them Shareef. Rowell also alleged that the prosecutors told him to lie about whether or not he had a deal, noting they scheduled his own hearing so it would not take place until after Cousin's trial, in order to conceal the deal from the defense. In response, the prosecution called Rowell's lawyer and a police detective who was present for Rowell's deposition. Those witnesses testified to what Rowell had previously said. The alibi witnesses testified that the game periods had run approximately 8 minutes. However, the prosecutor timed the periods of the games and found that the footage appeared to contradict their testimony. He also impeached them with prior statements in which they said that the game ended earlier than they later testified.

Evidence was also discovered that the prosecution may have taken steps to prevent a number of defense witnesses from testifying. The defense was unable to locate during the trial four witnesses whom it had planned to call to testify that Cousin had been with them at the time of the murder. It was later discovered that the prosecution instructed these witnesses to go to the district attorney's office and remain there for the duration of the trial. The location of those witnesses was not disclosed to Cousin or his attorney.

Disciplinary Board

In June 2005, prosecutor Roger Jordan was disciplined by the Louisiana Supreme Court for his misconduct in Cousin's case. His license to practice law was suspended for three months. However, the suspension was deferred on condition of good conduct for one year.

According to defense attorney Clive Stafford Smith, Regina Small told him that her husband, Detective Anthony Small, who was involved in the Cousin case, had called the Crime Stoppers tip line to report Cousin after police had already identified the teen as a suspect. Regina claimed that this led to the arrest of the teen, after which her husband collected the $10,500 reward. Regina and Anthony Small were in the process of divorcing when Stafford Smith interviewed. Regina also claimed that her husband stole jewelry from crime scenes and doctored police supports. None of Regina's claims were mentioned in the civil suit later filed by Cousin.

Aftermath Cousin was paroled for his other robbery convictions in 2005. In 2008, Cousin was arrested in Georgia and charged with committing identity and credit card fraud while working as a legal clerk at the Southern Center for Human Rights. Cousin had been employed at the center by the organization's president, Stephen Bright. Cousin later pleaded guilty to these charges. He admitted to stealing Bright's identity to obtain credit cards in his name and go on a $42,000 spending spree. Cousin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with three years to serve. He was released from prison on July 28, 2011.