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 put on death row in Louisiana, and one of the youngest in the United States.
Cousin was convicted almost solely on the basis of one eyewitness identification provided by a woman who was the date of the victim, who said he was one of three black males who accosted them. No physical evidence linked him to the crime scene. A number of other witnesses insisted Cousin had been playing in a youth league basketball game at the time of the murder. A video of the game was also presented at court.
During appeals, a number of instances of prosecutorial misconduct and suppression of exculpatory evidence were discovered in the case. The primary eyewitness initially told police she could not identify the shooter as she wasn't wearing her glasses, but this statement was not disclosed to the defense.
Another prosecution witness testified that he was coerced to falsely implicate Cousin in exchange for a reduced sentence on other charges. Cousin's conviction and death sentence were overturned in 1998. The DA dropped the case, saying there was not sufficient evidence for a second trial. No one else has been prosecuted for the murder.
The case of Shareef Cousin is frequently cited as an example of the unreliable nature of eyewitness testimony.
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. He had been named by James Rowell, a former friend who was seeking leniency for charges he faced arising from several robberies. Police put Cousin in a line-up and Babin picked him out.
Trial
Babin testified at trial that she was "absolutely positive" that she had seen Cousin commit the murder. 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 the lawyer and a police detective who was present for Rowell's deposition. Those witnesses testified to what Rowell had previously said.
Shareef's defense team presented witnesses, including two Parks and Recreation supervisors, who testified that Cousin had played in a basketball game in another part of the city and was being driven home by his coach at the time the crime was committed. There was also video footage of Cousin playing in a basketball game during the time of the murder. Prosecutors argued that the date and time stamp could be inaccurate if it was set incorrectly.
Detective Anthony Small listed two additional witnesses who supposedly positively identified Cousin as the murderer, but they were never called to testify. It later came to light that the detective had lied about having additional witnesses in order to get the warrant.
Cousin was convicted of first-degree murder by the jury and sentenced to death.