Dr. John Branion's final appeal

[mattc]

This is def. a fascinating case. I went into this case thinking that I would be convinced he was railroaded, and ended feeling that he probably did it. There are several issues, between the segment and the article above, that just don't make sense:
1) 4 bullets missing from his ammunition box (unless there are grounds to believe the cops stole them to frame him)
2) Him lying about not having a specific type of gun; the specific type which just happened to be the one used in the shooting. hmm...
3) Refusal to take a polygraph test
4) Not checking the body at all even though he's a doctor
5) Apparently going on vacation a week after the murder (although that could be to get away from the stress)
6) The 6 year affair

The timeline is a bit iffy: I do feel that he could have committed the murder because, remember, when we talk about timelines, we are basing it on people's recollection of when someone left somewhere and arrived somewhere else. A few minutes here or there can be added or subtracted from the timeline; therefore, the "10 minute" time between leaving the clinic and getting his son could have been give or take. Plus, if he was trying to create an alibi, he knew he had to get in there fast, shoot, and leave immediately.

I don't know; I am surprised that he was convicted, because the evidence is circumstantial and there is absolutely reasonable doubt. Then again, we don't know exactly how it was presented, and I can totally see the Dr. coming off as arrogant in the court room with his body language.

Finally, I have NO sympathy whatsoever for this man, regardless of whether he killed his wife or not. For him to be the personal doctor to Idi Amin means he helped a man who is responsible for the killing of thousands upon thousands of people, never mind the torture of thousands more. That alone makes me dislike him.

[kadrmas15]

Hmm, Matt, I will disagree with you here. I am not sure whether Branion was behind the killing of his wife but I think the timeline showed he could not have been the one that physically killed his wife. Whether or not he was behind it is a different question. But Branion did not actually lie about having the type of weapon. It was stolen and he did not realize it was stolen until after the fact. That is not a lie.

The fact he refused to take a polygraph also does not demonstrate guilt. I would not take one either, especially if the police were the one's administering it. But the polygraph's accuracy rates are so low that they are not even allowed into court as evidence in most states unless both parties agree to have it admitted.

In terms of the body, there was nothing to check. It was very obvious that she was dead. Also the affair, it was a 6 year affair, that is not a motive for an affair. People act like this was some hot on the burner thing or that his mistress threatened to leave him if he did not leave his wife when neither thing happened. Plus his mistress was aware he had a wife and his wife was aware he had a mistress.

[mah79]

Hi Everyone,
I have access to the Chicago Defender archives (a newspaper geared toward Chicago's African American population, founded about 1905) through my university library database, and I thought to share a few articles that i found on Branion here, both before and after the murder. It is quite interesting. he was quite influential in Chicago's black community (which UM alludes to), and his wife Donna was a socialite. Her father Sidney Brown was described as a "prominent Chicago attorney." Her brother was also an attorney. Ironically, Dr. Branion's father, John Branion Sr, was a defense attorney. I also found "Confetti" articles on which Mrs. John Branion is listed. "Confetti" was like a gossip column that detailed the parties, social events, etc. in the black chicago community, including a "who's who" on the guest list.

Unfortunately I can't copy and paste links to this site, since I this is through my school library, but I copy the text verbatim. I hope they can be of use.

This article appeared 3 years before the murder, and includes a photograph of Branion and 3 other influential hospital members
"Launch Spiritual-Medical Program"
Dec. 19, 1964

Everybody's Church and Ida May Scott Hospital under the direction of their founder and pastor Dr. James M Scott joined forces this holiday season in an attempt to create a spiritual and medical bridge to the Welfare Recipients Treated at the Hospital. They will present Christmas baskets to those patients who are physically disabled beyond the rehabilitation limits established by the church and hospital social welfare staff. Looking over the plans for the new program which will expand into other community work during the year are (left to right) Dr. John Branion, gynecologist, new medical director of Ida Mae Scott Hospital; Deacons A. Moore and Harry Mithcell of the church's trustee board and Dr. Scott

This is the title of another article: "Dad Demands Police Catch Branion Killer" which appeared shortly after New Year's 1968, and was reported with glaring headlines. I am paraphrasing it, as it was 3 pages and would be too long for me to transcribe at this moment. But basically Donna's father is urging for the killers to be found; the murder is described as a "pitiless crime." Donna was shot 12 times in the head and neck. At the time, Dr. Branion, his 2 children and Donna's brother had just returned from a vacation in Vail, CO. The police also "discarded" the theory that Donna was killed by a stranger, as no valuables were taken. There was also an investigation into Donna's character, and even the suspicion that she could have been killed by a woman. BTW, what do you think about this last theory? The UM re-enactment seemed to assume that the killers were male.

Here also is an interesting observation. when I googled "Dr. John Branion" (in quotes) into my university search engine,i came up with about 40 hits. There were a few articles from before the murder, such as the hospital Christmas article. however, most were in about the murder in trial.
HOWEVER, when I googled "John branion" by itself, I come up with interesting hits about John branion SENIOR, including his court cases. There was one from May 1961 where the father of an 11 year old was outraged when her 16 year old killer, Branion's client, was let go. He also defended a gang of teenager who were sentenced to life after a hold-up, in March 1959. I also found an article from 1936 where Branion Sr. defended a woman accused of killing an ex-lover who had left her. The EARLIEST article i found on the branion family is from 1932, a gossip piece about a Christmas party in which "mesdames John Branion, etc..." were in attendance (I assume this is Dr. Branion's mom)

Really interesting stuff. I never realized how much this murder galvanized the Chicago black community, nor how politically connected the Branion-Brown family was. Both before and after the murder, they were prominent names in the Defender. If i come across any more articles I will try to post them.

[mah79]

Correction: Regardin the new Year's 1968 article, when i say "at the time," I mean that the Branion family returned from Vail at the time of the article's publication.

[mah79]

Sorry, one last question I had. Does anyone know if Dr. Branion's wife Shirley has passed away? I was curious, and I looked up the name "Branion" on familysearch.org, trying to find if there was a record of Dr. Branion's date of death. And I found a record of a Shirley Branion, born January 6, 1940 and died February 2001.

[egswanso]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

I wonder what section of Chicago this happened in. Southside is known to have some of the worst crime in the country.

I lived about a block and a half from Dr. Branion's former apartment (which I didn't realize until I saw the other post here). The apartment is in Hyde Park/Kenwood, which is (and was) a racially integrated, wealthy neighborhood, anchored by the University of Chicago. The President lives there, when he's not in the White House, at least.

Hyde Park is a fairly safe neighborhood, especially given that it's patrolled by both CPD and UofCPD (who unlike most University police are real cops).

I wasn't there in '68, but from what I know of the neighborhood's history, it had avoided most (but not all) of the blight and social problems associated with the 60s. Violent crime was and is rare there.

[cuba_libre]

This was one of the most fascinating cases to me because there were so many avenues to go with the wife's murder. Plus, the doctor didn't come across as particularly sympathetic, especially when his long-time mistress surfaced. The whole thing with the affair and the racial tension and just nebulous facts made it one case I was never too sure about. Guess there's the possibility that racist police framed a guilty man...? Or not!

Still, I feel very sad for Dr. Branion's kids. Their mom was killed. Next, to have their dad on trial for her killing reads like some nightmare for elementary school-aged children....Just so sad for those babies.....

[mah79]

Hi Everyone,
Today I was surfing the web and Googled John Branion. I came up with this interesting link to a July 1984 article in Ebony magazine, and I am pasting the link here. I hope it comes up. it goes more in depth into Branion's life in Africa, and his associations with the famous and the infamous: Idi Amin, Stokely Carmichael, singer Miriam Makeba. The article even features photographs of Branion in Africa...he fled to many countries, including Algeria, the Sudan, Nigeria, and ghana. Supposedly he fled the United States by using the name and identity of a dead friend, Albert McCoo. I also think that Branion and Shirley had about 2 more children.

http://books.google.com/books?id=CcA...ranion&f=false

[Wamisto]

Originally Posted by James T

I cannot say I did- he had the chance to put his side across and chose not to, his team totally fudged the issue of an affair to where it made them look like they were hiding things, a man who finds his wife in that state who is also a doctor but does not even bother to check for vital signs as anybody finding a loved one would automatically do and not even getting the reason as to why he did not bother correct, lying about not having that make of gun, the differing times & circumstances between his version of picking his son up and the teachers version of events, it was no wonder he was found guilty.

I agree with James here.

Just as an addition for the second thing James mentioned - on the segment, he was very elusive about the affair - like he was trying to at once admit to the affair and also make it seem like there was really no affair at all (ie. merely "plutonic"). Seemed very suspicious to me.

[justins5256]

Nice to see this thread bumped.

One thing I never understood about this case - what was the prosecution's theory exactly?

Based on the re-enactments of Branion's trial and the fact that the defense tried to counter claims that he would have had enough time to commit the murder and pick up his son, one could assume that the state presented the theory that Branion himself acted alone and committed this murder.

However, on Unsolved Mysteries, the prosecutor says something like (paraphrasing) "we never were sure if he was the one who pulled the trigger". Huh? If that was the case, why didn't they go after Branion (presumed) accomplices and hang them all?

[Wamisto]

Originally Posted by mattc

[1] There are several issues, between the segment and the article above, that just don't make sense:
1) 4 bullets missing from his ammunition box (unless there are grounds to believe the cops stole them to frame him)
2) Him lying about not having a specific type of gun; the specific type which just happened to be the one used in the shooting. hmm...
3) Refusal to take a polygraph test
4) Not checking the body at all even though he's a doctor
5) Apparently going on vacation a week after the murder (although that could be to get away from the stress)
6) The 6 year affair

[2] The timeline is a bit iffy: I do feel that he could have committed the murder because, remember, when we talk about timelines, we are basing it on people's recollection of when someone left somewhere and arrived somewhere else. A few minutes here or there can be added or subtracted from the timeline; therefore, the "10 minute" time between leaving the clinic and getting his son could have been give or take. Plus, if he was trying to create an alibi, he knew he had to get in there fast, shoot, and leave immediately.

[3] Finally, I have NO sympathy whatsoever for this man, regardless of whether he killed his wife or not. For him to be the personal doctor to Idi Amin means he helped a man who is responsible for the killing of thousands upon thousands of people, never mind the torture of thousands more. That alone makes me dislike him.

Bingo, Bingo, and Bingo! Couldn't have said it better myself!

1. I would also add the way his eyes darted and shifted in the segment when he said he did not and could not have killed his wife.

2A. Everything matt said here, especially that last sentence. He had driven that stretch hundreds of times - he knew when the lights would change, how busy it was depending on the day, the hour, etc. He would have done everything possible to make sure he did things in as little time as possible, specifically because he was trying to give himself an alibi. His investigative team working on his appeal bought it - it's just the jury didn't.

2B. Another thing - the murder took place on Friday, December 22, three days before Christmas. How many people do you think booked time off to give themselves an extended Christmas break? Where I work, when Christmas falls on a Monday, the place is practically empty the Friday before. I bet there were hardly any cars on the road - and the cops were probably not patrolling the streets vigilantly for speeders.

2C. As for snow, I'm from Canada, and we can rip through it pretty fast.

3. mah79 also added that Branion hung out with these shady characters when he jumped bail and became a fugitive living in Africa. I hate to make him guilty by association, but if you hang with murderers and tyrants, it would not be a stretch to think you would be capable of killing the wife you are about to divorce.

[Wamisto]

Finally, one more question:

If Dr. Branion did not do it, what was the real killer's motive?

Dr. Branion is right about what he says in the segment - they suspected him because 85 percent of violent crimes are perpetuated by a family member or close friend. Out of the other 15 percent, they usually happen in dark alleys or in bad neighbourhoods.

In other words, I have a hard time believing it was someone other than Dr. Branion.

[wiseguy182]

Wamisto, to cover most of your points.

2b) Chicago near Christmasttime is going to be PACKED. The stores are going to be PACKED.

2c) I'm from Michigan, and if you drive through the snow fast, you're going to lose control of your car and end off the road. Just a few months ago, there were terrible snow drifts on the road and I went off the road despite the fact I was driving very slowly. Everytime it snows here, it's not uncommon to see 6-7 cars off the road in a few mile span. I don't know if they were driving fast or slow, but they went off the road.

3). Perhaps I missed something, but hanging out with Idi Amin and being Idi Amin's doctor are two entirely different things. Doctors generally don't get to pick their patients, they treat pretty much anyone that comes through the door. If Idi Amin came to him, I don't know that Branion would have alot choice but to treat him. And he must be an exceptionally good doctor if he treated Martin Luther King Jr., so perhaps Idi Amin chose because of his skills. Now if he was friends with Idi Amin, that's something different.

And for your final point, I can't recall all of the details of the segment, but just because there isn't an apparent motive by intruders (if they did do this), doesn't mean one doesn't exist. And this is Chicago we're talking about. It's not exactly crime-free, so it's certainly plausible she was the victim of a random act of violence.

[kadrmas15]

Good points Wiseguy, all of them. I will say, the timeline was iffy, for the state that is. They did not take into account that Branion had to go to the nursery school to pick up his son. By ALL accounts including the cops and prosecutors, Branion stopped at the school to pick up his son before returning home. Yet the cops in their recreated drive to see how long it would take drove straight from Branion's clinic to Branion's apartment without stopping at the school. That and being winter in Chicago, you would be out of your mind to speed as it would be very easy for you to spin out.

The cops took the fastest route from Branion's clinic to the apartment and did not go the route Branion took which was a slower route as he had to go to his son's nursery school. Then Branion had to get out of the car, go into the school, pick up his son, presumably at least greet the teacher, in fact the teacher reported talking to Branion for a couple of minutes while Branion dressed his son in the proper attire and prepared to take him home. So the cops timeline was skewed because they did not account for this in their timeline.

It seems to me, the state's theory was that Branion himself personally murdered his wife. I am frankly surprised they got a conviction on that theory. However the jury was probably instructed that they could convict Branion of murder even if they did not feel the evidence was sufficient to show that Branion was in the apartment at the time of the murder. However it does trouble me that if the state thought Branion had set this up, why not look for the so called accomplices and hang them along with Branion?

Chicago aka Cook County, Illinois is not exactly known for it's ethical practices in terms of law enforcement and prosecution. It is arguably the most corrupt county in the United States and has been for a long time. The trial also could not have happened at a worse time. 1968. The hotbed of racial tensions being at an all time high in Chicago. 11 whites and 1 black on the jury. My guess is the prosecution went out of their way to strike blacks from the panel because they were afraid they would be sympathetic to Branion. Striking members of a jury panel based on race was legal until the late 1980's. Even now it is not uncommon to see cases get overturned because prosecutors struck members of a jury panel and they had no real reason for doing so and it is obvious that the only reason they had was that they were members of a minority race since prosecutors feel that minorities tend to be more sympathetic to defendants especially if the defendant is of the same race.

What is also very troubling is that some folks evidently feel Branion deserved to be convicted because in their opinion he was not a good person. Of course the trial was years before Branion's days with Idi Amin but some folks feel because of that connection that Branion must have been guilty. Amin was driven out of power in Uganda in 1979. Branion was arrested in Uganda in 1983, 4 years after Amin and his regime were driven out.

Branion's sentence was commuted to time served by Governor James Thompson on August 7th, 1990. Branion had been transferred from state prison to the University of Illinois hospital in Chicago on July 3rd suffering from a brain tumor and heart ailment. So the state was paying for his medical care until the sentence was commuted to time served and Branion was discharged from custody and transferred to parole status. John Branion died in the hospital on September 8th, 1990, he was 64 years old.

Also, interestingly, Detective John Mannion, the lead investigator on Brannion's case, I found out some info on Mannion. Mannion served on the Chicago Police Department from 1961 to 1975. He was a patrol officer from 1961 to 1965, he was then a detective from 1965 to 1971 and was a patrol sergeant from 1971 to 1975. He went to school at night, earning his Bachelor's Degree in 1968 and his law degree in 1974. In 1975 he passed the Illinois State Bar, left the Chicago PD and went to work as a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney. He served as a prosecutor until 1985. Mannion was appointed a Cook County Circuit Court Judge in 1985. He worked on the bench until his retirement from the bench in 2006 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Mannion had a high case overturn rate and was considered to be highly biased in favor of the state.

[kadrmas15]

Also on December 22nd in Chicago? That place would be packed. Shopping in the United States is very different from shopping or driving in Canada I am sure.